TheBuzz Erika Engle

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Battery recalls notwithstanding, the expo will go on

SONY CORP.'s woes with lithium-ion battery recalls have not dampened executives' enthusiasm for the upcoming Sony Expo, an annual event staged only in Hawaii to introduce new products to holiday-minded consumers.

The long-awaited Playstation 3 video-game console, high-definition televisions, camcorders, cameras, music players, computers and high-definition Blu-ray Disc optical disc player are among the techno-toys to be displayed, demonstrated and discussed with the curious.

SONY EXPO IN HAWAII >> WHEN: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday Nov. 3 and Saturday Nov. 4 >> WHERE: Hibiscus Ballroom of the Ala Moana Hotel >> COST: Free and open to the public

The annual event has been held in Hawaii since 1985, according to Stan Glasgow, president and chief operating officer of Sony Electronics Inc.

"It was really started by our past president, Ryozo Sakai. He wanted residents of Hawaii to have a first-hand preview of our latest products and technology," said Glasgow, who took over his current posts in March.

Sakai also instituted the expo because, located between the mainland and Japan, Hawaii gets "a lot of different visitors ... we consider it a very important location ... it gets fairly special treatment," Glasgow said.

The company does not sell anything at the expo, so as not to compete against the retailers selling its products locally.

Those retailers, like Shirokiya, see a definite uptick in sales following each expo, according to Jay Inatsuka, floor manager in the electronics department.

It also doesn't hurt that expo-going shoppers have a holiday-buying mindset around this time of year, he said.

"It benefits all the Sony retailers," he said.

Hot sellers this season, Glasgow predicts, will be high-definition-anything.

He sees the transition to high-definition television just as groundbreaking as the transition from black-and-white TVs to color.

Prices have dropped 35 percent in the last year, he said. They have not come down to a level comfortable for "the common man, but certainly getting into the realm of middle class." What once cost $10,000 now costs $2,000, he said.

He estimates that half of people who initially bought a high-definition TV "didn't connect it up with a high-definition service," but he believes that situation is improving.

Overall, Glasgow is bullish on the company's prospects for the holiday season.

Inatsuka, of Shirokiya, sees great demand for the Blu-ray players and Playstation 3, for which consumers have been "patiently" awaiting.

He recommends shoppers buy early, as he would for "any product that's really hot and limited in supply."

The two-day Sony Expo runs from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday Nov. 3 and Saturday Nov. 4 in the Hibiscus Ballroom of the Ala Moana Hotel, and is free and open to the public.