Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Non-Tech : Any info about Iomega (IOM)? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: isdsms who wrote (47202)	2/8/1998 1:08:00 PM
From: jwk	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 58324

All -- re: ke & the call I have a long posting history here as being a strong supporter of KE and the marketing / business plan he has designed. I am a long term investor who chooses (so far) not to use margins or options. The question about KE and The Call is not whether or not he has grown a company at unprecedented rate. He indisputedly has. The question is why the research and rationale behind the ad campaign was so poorly presented in the CC. The problem with the conference call was not what was said, but in how it was presented. You can not get a correct sense of that from reading the transcript if you did not listen to the call. Also, having had the opportunity to listen to several of KE's previous calls, I was very much taken back by how much different he sounded in this one. The annoucement of the ad campaign was the biggest strategy move IOM has made since announcing the Zip. It should have been well thought out, practiced, and polished. It was not. Period. If KE did not anticipate that analysts would have some important questions concerning the decisons and motivations behind the campaign, he is at fault for not being prepared. There is a point in the question session where he was virtually arguing with two analysts who where trying to find out why IOM just didn't lower prices. Only after communication had virtually broken down between them did he offer that the ad campaign was based on strong market research. I was just cringing as I listened to him blow the opportunity to put the ad campaing in a positive light. He was on the defensive when he just as easily could have been on the offensive. He presented the downside and risks behind the decison, but he did it in such a way that made it sound desperate. The analysts were clearly frustrated and perplexed in trying to get at certain points; KE did nothing to indicate that he was aware of this or to help them see things in a more positive light. When he was questioned a couple of times about price pressure competition for Jaz, he gave way too terse an answer in a challenging and confrontational tone. The analysts are not our enemy, and yet KE seemed to go out of his way to frustrate their attempts to understand the direction the company is heading. As I said in my first post after the CC, "He could have told it like it is without telling it like he did." I'm still long and still holding. I just want KE to get some coaching on being direct without being counterproductive. He either choked or took a dive (for God only knows what reasons). Neither of those scenarios in acceptable, imho.

To: isdsms who wrote (47202)	2/8/1998 1:28:00 PM
From: Gary Wisdom	Respond to of 58324

Re: <<Try giving Tyler Thatcher a call and talk to him about your concerns. I did and feel much better about my investment.>> For the record, I did exactly this in December when Iomega was hovering around $27/share. I was very upset at the time as to why Iomega did absolutely nothing while the stock dropped over $6 in 2 weeks on no news. I was so angry about this, I told Tyler that I was considering selling my entire position. After talking to him, I did not sell my stock. Wish I had.