VAIO to Start Business Overseas From the US and Brazil

VAIO Corporation (Head office: Azumino, Nagano Prefecture; President: Yoshimi Ota) has entirely
focused on getting the business off the ground in the domestic market since its foundation on July
1, 2014. But today we are pleased to announce that we are moving into the overseas market to
further expand our business. The markets we have selected as a first step to make inroads into are
the United States of America and Brazil. While steadily increasing our domestic business, we will
expand our business in the international markets by finding the best partner in each country.
[Background and overview]
To make a foray into the two markets, we will take on the challenge of promoting new business
models that fit the characteristics of each market.
The US: We intend to establish the presence of VAIO in the US, the world’s largest creator market,
by launching the VAIO® Z Canvas, the prototype model which was highly evaluated at the “Adobe Max
2014,” the creativity conference organized by Adobe last year. Taking this as a good opportunity, we
will expand our PC business in the US, not limited to the creator market. We concluded an exclusive
distributor agreement with transcosmos America Inc., which has an extensive track record in EC
support both at home and abroad.
Brazil: We formed a partnership with Positivo Informatica S.A., a manufacturer and marketer of its
original PCs, providing overall related services, which has established a firm position in the PC
market in Brazil. We will jointly work on a vertical startup of our VAIO business in the Brazilian
market, the largest market in South America. We will entrust to the partner the overall business in
Brazil including manufacturing PCs labeled with the VAIO trademark.
Overview of Business in the US
Partner company
transcosmos America Inc.
URL: http://www.transcosmos.net/
Business model
Sole distributor agreement with transcosmos America Inc.
Product to sell
Model name VAIO® Z Canvas
Type VJZ12AX Series
Brand site
http://us.vaio.com
The main features of the Japanese model of VAIO Z Canvas (for your reference):
http://vaio.com/products/z_canvas/
Sales channels
1. Direct sales on the EC site operated by transcosmos America Inc.
2. microsoftstore.com (only for U.S. residents) and select Microsoft stores across the U.S.
URL : www.microsoftstore.com
Launch time(local time)
On sale : 05. Oct. 2015
Pre-order : starts from Mid/Sep.
Price
Starting at $2,199 (US)
Overview of Business in Brazil
Partners
POSITIVO INFORMATICA S.A.
URL: http://www.positivoinformatica.com.br/
Business model
Subcontracting of business of PCs labeled with the VAIO trademark, including manufacturing,
sales and after-sales service.
Product to sell / Sales channel / Launch time/ Price
To be announced by POSITIVO INFORMATICA S.A. in Sep.
〇Brand site
http://br.vaio.com
Regarding our decision of overseas expansion, we received comments from various companies.
- Intel corporation
Christopher J. (CJ) Bruno, Corporate Vice President and President, Intel Americas Inc.
“We are excited to support the launch of the VAIO PC in the United States. We also want to
congratulate POSITIVO’s role in bringing the VAIO PCs to Brazil, adding to the wide range of Intelbased
devices that the company is already bringing to consumers in the country. The VAIO PCs are
based on the Intel® Core processor family and the Intel® Iris™ Graphics, providing great performance
with long battery life and an immersive graphics experience for people who want to be creative both
at home or office.”
-Microsoft corporation
Alvaro Celis, Vice President, WW OEM Field Sales, Microsoft Corporation Inc.
“We are excited to see Windows 10 VAIO devices coming to the United States and Brazil. With new
hardware designs and new features in Windows 10, these new devices will provide rich new
experiences to consumers and business-focused capabilities to companies of all sizes.
About VAIO Corporation
VAIO Corporation, which inherited the VAIO PC business from Sony Corporation, was established on
July 1st, 2014, headquartered in Azumino City, Nagano Prefecture.
VAIO Corporation is dedicated to planning, design, development, manufacturing and sale of PCs and
related products labeled with the VAIO trademark.
VAIO Corporation website: http://vaio.com/
[Inquiries]
e-mail address of public relations section ; [email protected]
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- The names of other companies, products and services are registered trademarks or trademarks
of the respective companies.