all three brokerages have stopped following TLC because of the problems oppenheimer listed in their Oct/97 report. Oppenheimer
warned that if TLC would not improve performance in Q4 they would stop following it. They cite: high returns, slow sales in the industry, collapsing prices, and TLC's failure to meet estimates without the new acquisitions.
What really killed it for them was the PC Magazine review of software titles where TLC failed to list enough titles (only 2) that was directly proportional to its marketshare.
Their conclusion was TLC sells on price, and rebates will be higher than predicted. They fear 2 things: earnings are over stated and software titles are getting tired and will need major upgrading.
125 Best Software Titles:
Educational Fun
Ages 2 to 8
A Color Clown Comes to Town ($30 street; DiAMAR Interactive, 800-234-2627,
www.diamar.com).
Crayola Magic 3D Coloring Book ($40 street; IBM Corp., Consumer Division,
800-426-7235, www.pc.ibm.com/multimedia).
Disney's Animated Storybook, Hercules ($35 street; Disney Interactive,
800-900-9234, www.disneyinteractive.com).
Disney's Animated Storybook, 101 Dalmatians ($40 street; Disney Interactive,
800-900-9234, www.disneyinteractive.com).
Disney's Ready to Read With Pooh
($40 street; Disney Interactive,
800-900-9234,
www.disneyinteractive.com).
Franklin Learns Math ($30 street; Sanctuary Woods, 800-943-3664,
www.ah-hah.com).
Franklin's Activity Center ($30
street; Sanctuary Woods,
800-943-3664, www.ah-hah.com).
Freddi Fish 2: The Case of the Haunted Schoolhouse ($39.95 list; Humongous
Entertainment, 800-499-8386, www.humongous.com). Interactive Math Journey ($50 street; The Learning Company, 800-227-5609,
www.learningco.com).
Pajama Sam in No Need to Hide When It's Dark Outside ($39.95 list; Humongous
Entertainment, 800-499-8386, www.humongous.com).
Putt-Putt Travels Through Time
($39.95 list; Humongous
Entertainment, 800-499-8386,
www.humongous.com).
Science Blaster Jr. ($35 street;
Davidson & Associates Inc.,
800-545-7677, www.davd.com).
Stanley's Sticker Stories ($30 street; Edmark, 800-691-2985, www.edmark.com).
Stellaluna ($30 street; Broderbund Software, 800-521-6263,
www.broderbund.com).
Tonka Construction ($19.99 list; Hasbro Interactive, 800-638-6927,
www.hasbro.com).
Algebra Smart ($30 street; The
Princeton Review, 800-566-7737,
www.review.com).
The Cartoon History of the
Universe ($24.95 direct; Human
Code Inc., 800-659-5455,
www.humancode.com).
Geometry Blaster ($45 street;
Davidson & Associates Inc.,
800-545-7677, www.davd.com).
Inside the SAT & ACT '97 Edition ($30 street; The Princeton Review, 800-566-7737,
www.review.com).
InventorLabs ($29.95 list;
Houghton Mifflin Interactive,
617-503-4800, www.hminet.com).
JumpStart Adventures 3rd Grade:
Mystery Mountain ($40 street;
Knowledge Adventure, 800-542-4240, www.adventure.com).
Major League Reading ($29.99 list; Sanctuary Woods, 800-943-3664,
www.ah-hah.com).
Math Heads ($29.95 list; Theatrix Interactive, 800-955-8749, www.theatrix.com).
MathSoft StudyWorks for Schools ($99.95 list; MathSoft Inc., 800-628-4223,
www.mathsoft.com).
Mega Math Blaster ($35 street; Davidson & Associates Inc., 800-545-7677,
www.davd.com).
Mighty Math Series ($40 each, street; Edmark, 800-691-2985, www.edmark.com).
Orly's Draw-A-Story ($30 street; Broderbund Software, 415-382-4400,
www.broderbund.com).
Reading Blaster 2000 ($35 street; Davidson & Associates Inc., 800-545-7677,
www.davd.com).
Smarty ($35 street; 888-772-6877, www.spants.com).
Someone's in the Kitchen! ($35 street; DreamWorks Interactive, 800-426-9400,
www.dreamsworksgames.com). T
The Trigonometry Explorer ($40 street; Cognitive Technologies Corp.,
800-335-0781, www.cogtech.com).
Ultimate Writing & Creativity Center ($35 street; The Learning Company,
800-227-5609, www.learningco.com).
The Universe According to Virgil
Reality ($29.95 list; 7th Level,
800-884-8863, www.7thlevel.com).
Their conclusions so far have been proven correct to date:
PCDATA has listed only 2 TLC titles in the top 10 bestseller lists for the 3 weeks in March.
what all you clowns fear is anyone who isn't blinded by hype.
Oppenheimer, H&Q, Lehman et al... |
