After a long stretch of negative news, it seems Sharp may be about to take a big step forward. Today’s earnings announcement included the news that Sharp Electronics will be spinning off their consumer TV business in the US. The Sharp brand will remain, but someone else will be selling it.

NOTE: this move does not include Sharp’s B2B display business. Sharp is NOT exiting that!

This shouldn’t be a big surprise as those of you that follow Sharp closely will have already noticed the recently exited other major markets like Europe and Canada. They will continue to market consumer TVs in Japan and China.

Other things they’re doing to straighten the ship is cut headcount through a voluntary retirement program they just announced, They’re looking for 3,500 to leave in this manner.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – the business products group is one of the most profitable areas within Sharp Electronics and they clearly recognize that this is a big part of their future. This is why they wouldn’t sell it when so many in this industry considered it to be almost forgone conclusion.

Not only is this group profitable, but it’s also growing…

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