Frank,
>>However, there is competition lurking in the wings and Iomega will not be the only player to meet the demand you refer to<<
The demand I refer to is specifically for Iomega products. I see huge demand for ZIP and JAZ...so much so that they are scrambling to meet demand. I don't see this type of demand for competitor products. Why? Because competitors aren't compatible with ZIP or JAZ and, so far, are not as fast and/or inexpensive.
Can anyone think of any PC product since PC's came into the mainstream that was in such large demand that more than a year after it was announced, the manufacturer still could not meet demand??? I can't think of any. I am not so naive to assume that IOMEGA will never face serious competition. However, don't think that IOMEGA is just standing idle either. The competition mentioned in the WSJ has been mentioned for months (actually more than a year). This article had no new content and was an excellent example of the ignorance that surrounds WS when it comes to the tech industry. I seem to remember a company called Syquest (or something like that). They had a product positioned to compete with ZIP but they were late to market and NOT compatible with ZIP. I think they are still around, at least for a little while longer. These same WS types were telling us how IOMEGA was in danger because of Syquest. Hmmm.
Sure IOMEGA will have competition. INTC has competition, MSFT has competition. But the real question is, will it hurt IOMEGA? Is Cyrix hurting INTC? Is OS/2 hurting Windows? Cyrix has a good product. OS/2 was/is better than Windows. But INTC and MSFT have set the standard and built a loyal customer base. I belive IOMEGA is doing the same thing. In this industry, marketing, timing, and loyalty are often more important than the actual product. IOMEGA has the upper hand in all of these attributes not to mention great products. Enough rambling. Simply put, I see no reason to lower my expectations. Maybe you should consider raising yours.
Happy investing,
FF |
