Martin:
I'd better short "Omega" :)
Here's a good news for SYQT. Sorry for the bad copy&paste.
Phyco
Iomega's image-builder hired to load Syquest's cartridge
San Fransisco Business Times, Friday, August 08, 1997 at 20:40
Paul Losee helped bring down Syquest Technology, the Fremont-based
disk drive maker, when he worked for rival Iomega. Now he has a
marketing plan to try and save his former foe.
Losee, a former IBM executive and Iomega founder, was hired by
Syquest in May to craft a new advertising and corporate image
campaign that begins later this month. The campaign will go
head-to-head with the successful "because it's your stuff" slogan
Losee created for Iomega.
Syquest's resurrection depends on winning market share back from
Iomega. Now, with his Utah-based marketing firm, The Silakhan Route,
Losee is bent on bringing Syquest back with his "genius" campaign.
Syquest will use television commercials for the first time, in
addition to radio and print advertisements, which will peak at
November's Comdex show. A new Syquest corporate logo debuted this
week to kick off the campaign, which will accompany a spate of new
and repositioned Syquest products.
The company will spend 1,000 percent more on advertising and image
this year because of the campaign, said Gary Marks, executive vice
president of marketing. He would not disclose how much the company
will spend.
In addition to bringing Losee on board, Syquest recently hired two
senior Iomega executives to beef up sales.
At the heart of Losee's Syquest campaign is an emotional pitch to
users that the products of their own "geniuses" deserve to be stored
on a Syquest drive.
One commercial likely will take a swipe at Iomega. Iomega has
identified itself with the "stuff" commercials, said Losee. "But you
know what happens when you accumulate too much stuff? It becomes
junk," he jabbed, hinting at the upcoming Syquest commercial.
"This has been a 15-year battle between Syquest and Iomega," Losee
added. "Four years ago, Syquest was beating the crap out of Iomega,
and I did research into why. Now it's the reverse, but ultimately
it's healthy for everyone if there is aggressive competition."
Silence of the Lam could end with new CEO
Another Fremont company looking to make a turnaround is Lam Research
Corp. whose new CEO Jim Bagley has some analysts expecting better
times for the $1.2 billion semiconductor equipment maker.
Bagley was approved by Lam's board Aug. 5 to succeed founder Roger
Emerick.
Bagley's rise is meteoric. A year ago he was CEO of OnTrak Systems,
a $56 million San Jose maker of processing tools used in the
semiconductor business. When OnTrak was acquired by Lam for around
$225 million in stock last March, he was anointed to lead the
combined entity.
Prudential Securities' semiconductor analyst Milind Bedekar has been
bullish about the company, saying it's a comeback story that will
have a happy ending - but it will take time. Lam's most recent
quarter came up well short of analysts' projections. The stock fell
$3.75 to $56 a share on July 29.
"If you look at the P&L day to day, you can get skittish, but we see
this as a six- to eight-quarter turnaround," Bedekar said. "They
need a redesign and that's going to take at least three to four
months to work through."
Meter reader on fast track, but profits trail
With energy deregulation approved in 13 states, San Carlos' CellNet
Data Systems is poised for revenue growth. The company installs
wireless data networks for utility companies, enabling a range of
services, including allowing consumers to interactively manage their
home-energy use.
Pacific Gas & Electric Co. completed testing CellNet's network meter
reading system, and four other utilities, including Seattle's Puget
Sound Energy Inc., have contracts. All that led to a big second
quarter when revenues jumped to $1.5 million from $251,000.
On a less inspiring note, however, the Nasdaq-traded public company
lost nearly $46 million for the first half.
The losses stem from the building of the networks, which don't
generate significant revenues for 24 to 36 months, according to Paul
Manca, chief financial officer.
Of the 30 power marketers invading California, about a dozen are
interested in employing CellNet's systems.
The company has 500 employees and has grown its staff 35 percent
this year. |
