Japanese electronic manufacturing giant Toshiba is apparently pulling the plug on its Surveillance & IP Video Products Group. Although the company has yet to confirm the move, SecurityInfoWatch has learned from an industry source that the group will cease to operate December 31 of this year. It is not clear how assets, contracts, dealer agreements and other business will be handled, but the source said: “it will be business as usual until then.”
“Apparently this was a decision that was made in Tokyo. It is no secret that corporate in Japan has been having some critical financial issues. But this is still a big surprise,” says an anonymous security distributor we spoke with, adding that all Toshiba distributors and group personnel received written notice on Tuesday of this week of the impending group closure.
A fixture in the CCTV industry since 1987, Toshiba Surveillance & IP Video Products Group markets a wide range of video surveillance solutions including network-based IP cameras, analog cameras, digital video recorders, software, video servers and accessories. Headquartered in Irvine, California, Toshiba Surveillance & IP Video Products Group is a business unit of Toshiba America Information Systems (TAIS), Inc., and is responsible for all sales and marketing efforts in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Latin America.
TAIS is comprised of three business units: Digital Products Division, Imaging Systems Division, and Telecommunication Systems Division. Together, these divisions provide digital products, services and solutions, including industry-leading portable computers; televisions, TV/DVD Combination products, Blu-ray Disc and DVD products, and portable devices; imaging products for the security, medical and manufacturing markets; storage products for computers; and IP business telephone systems with unified communications, collaboration and mobility applications. TAIS is an independent operating company owned by Toshiba America, Inc., a subsidiary of Toshiba Corporation.
“The surveillance and IP camera group were doing okay, but the reality is that it is a small group compared to all the other technology assets controlled by the company,” says the distributor, who expects Japan to sell off the Security Group.
It has been an extremely difficult several years for the iconic Japanese corporation that launched the electronic revolution with its high-end digital televisions and laptop computers to the U.S. and the world. According to a report this spring on CNN digital, the company is suffering from massive financial woes that threaten its survival. Toshiba finished its fiscal year this past March losing more than $9 billion and expressed “substantial doubt” concerning its future.
But much like America’s financial crisis of the mid-2000s led by disastrous performances from U.S. automakers and Wall Street, these institutions were deemed “too big to fail” and received federal bailouts. Toshiba, which employs around 190,000 people around the world, has Japanese analysts saying the company is too important to be allowed to fail. Toshiba revealed massive losses related to its U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse Electric Co., which filed for bankruptcy protection in March.
“I can tell you with certainty that it was not the performance of the Surveillance & IP Video Group that brought this about,” adds the Toshiba distributor. “The product solutions were dynamic and innovative. We feel there is a future for them.”
Attempts to contact officials at Toshiba Surveillance & IP Video Group were unsuccessful.
About the Author: Steve Lasky is the Editorial Director of SouthComm Security Media, which includes print publications Security Technology Executive, Security Dealer & Integrator, Locksmith Ledger Int’l and the world’s top security web portal SecurityInfoWatch.com. He is a 30-year veteran of the security industry and a 26-year member of ASIS.
