The Japanese corporation Sony has officially ended its operations in Russia by liquidating its local representation. This process was finalized on August 11, 2024, when the company ceased to exist under the name Sony Mobile Communications Rus. The liquidation documents were filed with the Russian Federal Tax Service on October 10, 2024, reports Baltimore Chronicle, citing data from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities (EGRUL). Just a few days prior, the company had celebrated its 18th anniversary. Previously, in 2023, Sony had attempted to close the subsidiary, but the request was denied by Russian authorities.
In recent years, the company had been actively selling off leftover products and providing support services for its devices. Sony decided to fully exit the Russian market after the invasion of Ukraine, being one of the first companies to support Western sanctions. In March 2022, the company halted the supply of consoles and the PlayStation Store operations. At that time, Sony donated $2 million to help Ukrainians affected by the war through the UN and Save the Children. In the same year, Sony Pictures Entertainment announced it would stop screening its movies in Russia.
In September 2022, Sony Music ceased its operations in Russia, removing international catalogs from local streaming services. The Russian subsidiary became an independent label, initially called Kiss Koala, and later rebranded as Koala Music. In February 2024, the corporation began closing its branded stores in Russia, completing the process by summer.
Before the war, Sony’s business in Russia had been profitable. However, after initiating its exit from the market, financial results sharply deteriorated: in 2022, the company reported a net loss of 1.43 billion rubles, followed by a loss of 530.2 million rubles in 2023. Although in 2024, the subsidiary reported a profit of 111.7 million rubles, its revenue dropped by 76%, with the majority of income coming from warranty services and administrative support.
Earlier we wrote that new Sony handheld to feature Zen 4 and RDNA architecture.