Pros
From my 10+ years of experience, Sony Direct retail has some of the brightest retail managers and most passionate staff that I've worked with in any industry. This company has some seriously talented individuals who love what they do. Most staff is invested and rarely feels the need to look for greener pastures. Work life balance is better than most, and compensation is above industry average.
Cons
This is a great company to have a career with, except for the now very major issue that the company's financial difficulties have finally caught up and are affecting livelihoods within the workforce. Also, there's a major disconnect between corporate and the retail stores in terms of regulated messaging. The company overall hires great retail managers and staff, however regulating retail operations is clearly not the company's strong suit, and the US side of things is clearly hamstrung by corporate in Tokyo.