TO ALL: MY CURRENT EMAIL EXCHANGE. PETER TROOP RESPONDS..BARRY (HEH!)
Here's a blow-by-blow you folk might be interested in. Even Barry might appreciate it <g>.
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Peter,
Well, thank you for responding. I'm sure by now, you've received the 2nd one
from me. As a matter of fact, I'm sure you did based on your comments below.
Please allow me to comment on your response.
>At 04:49 PM 10/17/96 -0700, you wrote:
>
>Joe /
>
>This is in response to the emails you sent this week to both Joe
>Marengi and I regarding GroupWise. Joe forwarded the message and
>asked that I respond.
Well, I appreciate that. I also would 've appreciated a response from Joe.
I know he's very busy, but it might help to have the man in charge speak
to a shareholder also. Solidifying investor confidence, in my opinion, is
as important, if not more important that taking care of business.
>Let me preface this by saying that I appreciate your sentiment, but
>we aren't going to be able to engage in a running commentary of the
>ups and downs of trade press coverage. Trade press writes scores of
>articles and hundreds of inches about Novell every week. Some of
>it is good, some we wish was better, but its all part of a flow from
>press that Novell values as a central part of how we communicate with
>customers.
Not good enough. Microsoft does it "day in and day out", and that's why they
WIN. You need to try harder. And THAT was the reason for my er... more
emotional e-mail today. It seems to me that NOVELL's coverage has gone down
from the "hundreds of inches" as you say, to a mere fraction of that.
>With real messaging products, delivering real Internet integration,
>Novell gets significantly more messaging-related coverage inches from
>PC Week, and trade press it general, than does Netscape.
You Aren't reading the same stuff I am Peter. That "isn't" what the analysts are saying. RE: The "Wither Novell" article in InfoWorld. And, for that matter, PC Week isn't the only influential rag. Infoworld, Communications Week, Lan Times, Information Week, Computerworld, All of the Ziff Pubs, etc.. ALL play a BIG part in your (NOVELL'S) perception.
>Overall, Novell gets great GroupWise coverage from PC Week. Paula
>Rooney is the PC Week reporter who covers GroupWise. She wrote a
>great piece in the Sept 30 issue "Novell Outfits GroupWise with
>Internet Integration." She writes about two stories a month on
>GroupWise.
2 per "month" on Groupwise versus 20 per "day" on MSFT and NCSP (and now NOTES, SUN, ORCL and the rest of the bunch). Where are you, Peter????
>As to your other email message, which I take as criticism of
>GroupWise advertising. I have passed your comments to GroupWise
>product marketing and the advertising management people at Novell.
Oh, so you did get today's version. Good. You're categorizing the content
incorrectly. Let me clarify, The major thrust of that e-mail was to say
that you (Novell) are fading. You are not in the "fray", you are not a
contender. You are like OS/2. No one CARES! (except me, and the other
shareholders). THAT was the major thrust. How do you get into the fray?
Well, I don't see Marengi (like Barksdale) trading jabs with Gates, eh?
THAT's what the major thrust of TODAY's email was about (I'll replay it
again for you below). If I sound angry, I AM! As far as trading barbs, that
is NOT my intention.
>In that neither of us will be helped by slinging barbs back and
>forth, I think it fair to state a few simple, stark facts that
>address the low valuation of Novell stock that I presume is your real
>issue.
YES, THAT IS THE BOTTOM LINE. PERIOD. I AM NOT IN LOVE WITH "ANY" COMPANY.
But, in any event,
See my comment above about trading barbs. And if you don't think I am a NOVELL cheerleader, I suggest you visit my web page (address below), read
a good bit of the Novell thread on Silicon Investor, ask a few columnists
in the industry what kind of criticism they have received from me about the
coverage they've given Novell, and try and understand why it is the way I feel.
>In large part, Novell's stock price reflects Wall Street worries
>about whether, when and to what extent Novell can deliver revenue
>growth. There is general agreement in the financial community that
>Novell's weak stock price reflects investor dissatisfaction with the
>company's not delivering revenue growth in recent periods.
Understood. I know that. So, what are you gonna do about it?
>In Novell's most recent fiscal quarter, Q3 FY96, revenues of $365
>million were down 19% from comparable network software revenues in Q3
>1995.
I am aware. This is a rehash of what everyone knows. Again, what are you
gonna do about the future?
>Management knows that achieving revenue growth is the issue. It is
>spending more than $250 million a year in product development with
>the objective of creating new products to help deliver revenue
>growth. To help sell more of existing products, advertising
>expenditures are now running at $20 million a quarter.
You gotta convince the analysts, Forrester, IDC, Gartner, etc, etc, etc.
Plus get a few write ups in Barrons, etc. etc. etc. Big job, eh? Well,
the way I look at it, is you are all making nice salaries (and perks), and
chutes, and .... whatever. So, show me some beef, where is it?
>But, Wall Street requires more than intentions. For this issue to
>turn around and become a positive for the company, Novell needs to
>deliver successive quarterly increases in revenue. There really
>isn't a substitute for achieving revenue growth over several
>quarters, and there aren't short cuts to achieving it.
Yes, I know, but I would like to see this company perceived as something more than being in a catatonic state with no direction as it is right now.
And,
How come Gates can turn on a dime, and find the SHORTCUTS, and YOU (NOVELL)
Cant? Eh?
>I understand and appreciate your dissatisfaction as a shareholder,
>Joe Marengi does too. The company is working hard every day to try
>to make the difference that needs to be made.
Then you gotta work harder. Much harder. And the first thing I would do, is to get as much exposure in the press as a PLAYER, and not a HAS BEEN, ASAP.....
>Peter Troop
>Sr. Director Investor Relations
>Novell, Inc.
>
Joe Antol <Don't take it personal Peter, just do something about it. Or get
somebody that can.>
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Here is today's e-mail, which you alluded to which I feel is appropriate, at least for the investors in NOVELL to review also:
============================================================================
>From: Joe Antol
>Subject: NO SUBJECT
>To: jfree@ix.netcom.com
> joe_marengi@novell.com
> peter_troop@novell.com
>
>>Subj:
>Jon, Joe and Peter,
>
>Well, I gotta tell ya', I've got a "keeper" here. What do I mean?
>
>Why, the latest copy of Information Week, October 14, 1996.
>
>A "keeper", what does he mean? Well, with the exception of the one
>(countem') ONE adv. for Groupwise (you know, the one's that look like
>they were done by a third-grader), there wasn't ONE, not ONE mind
>you reference to NOVELL. Not even the WORD ... NOVELL.
>
>Are you guys trying to redefine the definition of "Stealth Marketing"????
>
>Man, while the rest of the world is BEATING TO THE DRUMS OF INTERNET TIME
>What in the hell are you doing? Marengi the Hun? Joe, are you trying to
>win this thing by playing an ostrich, or what? I KNOW John Young's got
>his eye's closed on this one, and he wouldn't respond in a heartbeat.
>
>I shot off email to you guys, now still unanswered.
>
>Jeeeeeezzzzzzz, what in the hell are you people doing????????????????
>
>You are not even a BLIP on anyone's radar. Again, you either have
>something up your sleeve, or like I said, you are redefining the
>term "Stealth Marketing", and:
>
>YOU ARE TAKING ALL OF US SHAREHOLDERS IN THIS MORBID COMPANY FOR A RIDE!!
>=========================================================================
>
>Please be sure I will be posting this on Silicon Investor for other's
>to either comment on, agree, disagree, whatever.
>
>Jon Freeman, can you help me feel better? I know our dear investor
>relations guy is just going to pass the buck (like Marengi will do).
>
>Thank You.
>
>Joe Antol
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Thanks Peter, and Good luck.
============================================End of Email Exchange=====
Joe <Soooo... How was everybody else's day today? <G>>
monmouth.com |
