Compaq's European, Latin American
strategies will not change, execs said
By Jana Sanchez and Juan Carlos Perez
InfoWorld Electric
Heads of Compaq's European and Latin American subsidiaries both said that their plans will
remain unchanged in the wake of CEO and President Eckhard Pfeiffer's departure, which was
announced on Sunday.
"In no way does [Pfeiffer's resignation] affect Compaq's Latin America plans. On the
contrary, I think that ... we will be able to implement the plans faster," said Enrique Ospina,
Compaq's vice president and general manager for Latin America and the Caribbean, in a
teleconference Monday.
Compaq's plans for Latin America include the creation of online shops to sell its wares in the
region, the implementation of call centers in all major countries to improve customer service,
and an attempt to boost sales of Compaq products in retail outlets.
Meanwhile. in Europe Compaq will carry on with its dual strategy of selling high-end systems
and services to large corporate customers while continuing to sell PCs at all price levels. This
strategy has been much maligned by analysts as being one of the main factors contributing to
Pfeiffer's removal, because Compaq's attempts to be "all things to all people" have left the
company too unfocused, they said.
"This is one of the complexities," said Andreas Barth, Compaq's general manager for Europe,
Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), during a phone interview on Tuesday. "Since Compaq is an
IT company with a broad offering in all segments of the market, we have to have different
business models."
Barth drew a contrast between Pfeiffer's removal and that of Rod Canion, his predecessor in
the Compaq CEO hot seat, in 1991.
"In 1991, when we had a change in management ... the strategy [of Canion] was not supported
[by the board]. At that time, we fundamentally changed the strategy," Barth said.
According to Ospina, Compaq's board felt that although the company is headed in the right
direction, it needs a new leader who will execute its plans faster, and that Compaq has not
been posting the revenue growth that is expected from the company.
"What this shows is that our board is one of the most active in the market," Ospina said.
One strategy put in place by Pfeiffer on which Compaq EMEA will move rapidly is selling its
PCs direct, Barth said. Currently in Europe, Compaq's PC business is almost 100 percent
indirect, going through resellers and distributors, he said, while the company's sales of servers,
services, and storage are direct to corporate customers.
Calling it a "customer choice model," Compaq will begin direct sales of PCs via the Web very
shortly in France and the United Kingdom, and then throughout Europe during the second half
of 1999, Barth said. The continuation of that strategy demonstrates that Compaq is not moving
away from Pfeiffer's vision, he said.
"Eckhard as the CEO gave the direction for that. It was part of the strategy that was fully
supported by the board of the directors," Barth said. "The fundamental direction will not
change."
The eventual successor to Pfeiffer is likely to be the CEO of an important company, or at least
someone with CEO potential, Barth said.
"Ideally, [we want] someone who is part of the IT industry, or at least someone who has a
good understanding of and is comfortable with technology," Barth said. Admitting that those
people are rare, the task will be difficult, Barth added.
Barth this week is phoning his largest corporate customers, he said.
"What they are mostly concerned about is that we maintain the commitment that Pfeiffer has
made personally regarding the offering of products, solutions, and services ... and since the
strategy is unchanged, they are happy," Barth said. |
