SHAKE-UP AT SONY : Sony U.S. Under Schulhof

As president of Sony Corp. of America, Michael P. Schulhof oversaw the company’s entry into the entertainment business in music, movies and television. A look at his record in Sony’s major U.S. divisions:

MUSIC

Spearheaded the 1988 purchase of CBS Records--including the Columbia and Epic labels--for $2 billion. Although the acquisition was heavily second-guessed at the time, the highly profitable Sony Music Entertainment posted earnings of $5.4 billion in its most recent year.

What’s Next?

The division has been running successfully and Sony is likely to let President Thomas D. Mottola continue to run the business.

Holdings

The music division, which is based in New York, represents such artists as Mariah Carey, Pearl Jam and Bruce Springsteen and includes the labels Columbia Records, Epic Records, TriStar Music and Sony Music International.

FILMED ENTERTAINMENT

Negotiated the 1989 acquisition of Columbia Pictures and Sony’s entry into the music business. But his management of the Columbia and TriStar studios has been widely criticized. Analysts say he drastically overpaid Sony Pictures Entertainment Chairman Peter Guber and then failed to pay sufficient attention to what his managers were doing. Sony Corp. took a humiliating $3.2-billion write-down on the studios in 1994.

What’s Next?

Sony is expected to try to sell a portion of the filmed entertainment division, possibly in a public offering next year.

Holdings

The Culver City-based movie division has made such films as “Prince of Tides,” “Legends of the Fall” and “Little Women” and includes Columbia Pictures, TriStar Pictures, Sony Pictures Classics, Triumph Films, Sony Pictures Studios and Culver Studios. Sony Television Entertainment, also in Culver City, produces and-or distributes television programs such as “Seinfeld” and “Mad About You.”

REVENUE

Sony Corp.’s electronics business accounted for about 80% of the company’s $44.8 billion in sales for the 1994-95 fiscal year. The company’s beleaguered entertainment holdings constitute less than 20% of its revenue. A breakdown by division:

Electronics: 80%

Music: 13%

Film: 7%

CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

Introduced most recently the Sony PlayStation, a video game system to compete with Sega and Nintendo. So far it has been a success. But Sony’s standard for digital video discs--a format expected to supplant videocassette recorders--failed to win the industry’s approval, and the company was forced to blend its design with a rival designed by Toshiba Corp. and Time Warner Inc. Sony’s MiniDisc, a recordable mini-compact disc, was a flop.

What’s Next?

Sony President Noguyuki Idei’s desire to take the consumer electronics division away from Schulhof may have been the last straw that led to his resignation. The division will probably be run from Japan, where major consumer electronics decisions are made by the company.

Holdings

The Tokyo-based electronics unit makes audio and video equipment and has announced plans to enter the computer market.

Sources: Bloomberg Business News, Times reports. Researched by JENNIFER OLDHAM / Los Angeles Times