TUTS future is in the licensing agreements it has with others. TUT has a stated aversion to wanting to be a "manufacturer". The only reason they had products in Merisel and Tech Data, is that was where their re-sellers and VAR's could get it for business projects.
Tut will be much better off leaving the hardware to others, and staying in the technology development business.
When Dell, Compaq, etc. begin shipping their PC's with a Homerun card, built-in,or an Intel or AMD CPU with the HomeRun technology onboard, TUT will be just fine. End of 1999 Q1-2000, latest.
As to the "all-time lows" of the distributors. I think we have seen the virtual end of Computer products distribution as an entity. Watch Ingram be next( Worlwide distribution will sustain them longer, in other countries that are not as developed on the curve).
Why? There are no longer enough margins in the hardware to allow the multiple channe/level stepping, and the big re-seller retailers are going direct for the competitive price advantage.Software may continue as Music and books have, but it becomes a rack-jobbing business which is high overhead for a distributor.
The only thing that may save the distributor is end-user fulfillment activity.
25 years ago, there were huge Appliance and Personal Care distributors.
20 years ago there were huge consumer eletronics distributors.
They are virtually gone, except for very narrow, small specialty market distributors.
Computer products distribution couldn't last, too. The model is good for 10-20 years, and then offshore mass production and wide spread competitive availability destroys it. The Internet sales to resellers isn't helping.
just a thought. |
