Was this article supposed to be positive? Didn't sound that way to me.
Red Hat KK Aims for Sales of More Than US$9M
September 14, 1999 (TOKYO) -- Red Hat KK, established as a wholly-owned Japanese subsidiary of U.S. Red Hat Inc., said it will aim for sales of 1 billion yen (more than US$9 million) for the initial year.
The new company, established on Sept. 3, announced its business plan for the Japanese market on Sept. 9.
At the present time, the company has five employees, including President Masanobu Hirano. By the end of 1999, the total number of employees will increase to 30. The company will provide support to personal computer makers and vendors who sell the Japanese-language version of "redhat Linux" as a product.
However, at a press conference, there was no concrete explanation about the business plan, nor were questions regarding the amount of capitalization and other aspects of business management answered.
With regard to the latest Japanese version "redhat Linux 6.0," which the company was planning to supply in October, President Hirano stated: "We want to release it fairly early, but I cannot tell you the specific time period." He also did not explain the exact shipment date.
However, the Japanese language "redhat Linux 6.0" is already in the alpha-version stage. He emphasized that the company has already supplied it to PC manufacturers with which RedhHat has a sales contract such as IBM Japan Ltd., Dell Computer Corp. of Japan and Compaq Computer KK. The company is in the position of supplying the latest version as a product quite soon, Hirano said.
Red Hat is planning to conclude contracts with other major domestic makers such as NEC Corp., Hitachi Ltd. and Fujitsu Ltd. and SI vendors, and increase its sales channels. Of the target of 1 billion yen in the first year, the company "would like to earn 30 percent to total sales by providing support to business enterprises," said President Hirano.
In relation to the question of the termination of the partnership contract with Itsutsubashi Research Co., Ltd., to which the company has been providing redhat Linux products in Japan, President Hirano explained that there were various kinds of misunderstandings with Itsutsubashi.
"If there is a will to maintain the relationship on the part of Itsutsubashi, we would like to cooperate," Hirano said.
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