Dwight, in the old Micron thread, we used to say that since DRAMs weren't traded in the futures/commodities markets, they weren't really commodities....
Well, we can get technical about it, but I prefer to be more practical. And for all practical purposes, DRAMs, modems, and PCs all have a significant degree of commoditization.
And there is much more to Packard Bell than what you stated. It's a long long story, but in brief:
1) Packard Bell has no corporate market (which is where the money is). In 1996, retail consumer sales of PC were kinda slow--the reason that DELL, CPQ, and GATE did so well, is because they have significant exposure to the corporate market. And the direct model helps too.
2) Many consumers know of Packard Bell's quality, reliability, and support issues--and they don't like what they hear. |
