Initial Windows 98 Sales "Better than Expected"
As predicted, the "surprises" have started. In an article in today's Wall Street Journal (available at interactive.wsj.com to subscribers) entitled "Personal-Computer Sales Were Hurt by Long Wait for Windows 98 Release" we get the first glimpse of the Street waking up to the reality of the marketplace. I particularly enjoyed this passage:
Pent-up demand for Windows 98 appeared to be so great that an estimated 277,000 copies of the system were sold in U.S. stores within the first 24 hours after being launched last Thursday, according to PC Data. That number nearly matched the estimated 300,000 copies of Windows 95 that were sold the first day that system was launched three years ago, amid a marketing blitz by Microsoft that far overshadowed last week's low-key launch.
Microsoft officials said they didn't yet have any specific estimates, but added that anecdotal data indicates the initial sales of Windows 98 are running ahead of their expectations. In addition to the strong sales results reported in stores, the officials say the company received a healthy 120,000 advance orders for the software upgrade.
"In general, the analysts have underestimated how well this product would perform," said Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft's director of Windows marketing.
Watch for a mad scramble as analysts plug these "surprises" into their spreadsheets and recalculate the effect on 2H98 earnings across the PC sector. |
