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

To: Ken Pomaranski who wrote (48174)	2/18/1998 7:24:00 PM
From: Joon Song	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 58324

>>>> Iomega is basically chucking the low end market. Remember the last CC. They said that they will advertise RATHER THAN COST REDUCE THE PRODUCT. This tells me that they hit a wall. I think the low end could VERY, VERY easily go to Sony, since the drive is two functions in one. I know that they'll dump the product at a low price if they have to. <<<< KE's comments during the conference was a bit difficult to follow, but my interpretation was that he was happy with Zip unit sales, but disappointed with overall Zip revenues. I took this to mean that the sales of Zip disks were lower than expected and they intend to try to remedy that by increased advertising. Whether it works or not, who knows? But if we're judging IOM based on whether they can make Zip the standard for removable storage, the key it would seem is the growth of Zip unit volume. That doesn't seem to be a problem yet. The "horrible" Q4 we just had actually showed an acceleration in the growth of unit volume. 1997Q4 unit volume increased 150% over 1996Q4, while the increase for all of 1997 was only 100% over 1996. Correct me if my numbers are wrong. Joon

To: Ken Pomaranski who wrote (48174)	2/18/1998 8:26:00 PM
From: Linda Pearson	Respond to of 58324

Ken, <They said that they will advertise RATHER THAN COST REDUCE THE PRODUCT. This tells me that they hit a wall. > According to Tyler Thatcher,Investor Relations, they will evaluate around May whether the advertising has been effective in the way they had originally expected. (This was based on a pinpoint question that I had asked) If this has not happened...they MAY CONSIDER lowering the prices at this time.....(no guarantees). Linda

To: Ken Pomaranski who wrote (48174)	2/19/1998 1:03:00 AM
From: Michael Coley	Respond to of 58324

RE: Reliance on Zip / Clik / Cost Reductions. Ken, >> I would like revenues (and gross profit) due to ZIP to be less than 50% of the company. << I can certainly see that point. I think that we're getting there, too. I estimate that Zip is around 70% of sales right now. Jaz2 and Buz should pick up the non-Zip revenues some, but the ad campaign will probably offset that, leaving Zip around 70%. Clik has the best chance of balancing the scales, but I don't see significant (Zip-level) revenues from Clik until mid- to late-1998. >> AND I think that when (if) CLIK! comes out it will cannibalize ZIP sales and burn the company. << I have a really hard time seeing any validity in this point. It's a totally different market. For PC's, Zip is a much better choice than clik!. Higher capacity, cheaper drive, comparable disk prices, large installed base. I don't see any cannibalization. >> They said that they will advertise RATHER THAN COST REDUCE THE PRODUCT. << Actually, I think it's more clearly stated as "they will advertise BEFORE they take pricing action". Consumers have to know why they need it before they'll buy it, no matter what the price is. I'm expecting a Zip price reduction in Q3. Just a gut feeling. I'm not sure if it will be to the $99 price point, or a stop in between ($129?). I think they'll be gradually dropping the OEM drives on an ongoing basis. Thanks for answering my question! I think I understand where you're coming from much better now. - Michael Coley - wwol.com

To: Ken Pomaranski who wrote (48174)	2/19/1998 1:28:00 PM
From: Michael Coley	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 58324

RE: Zip in Sub $1000 Compaq! Todays email of special values from Egghead: 233 AMD-K6 MMX Presario for under $1000!***************** Was: $1,299.97 Now $999.99 The Compaq Presario 4550 includes a fast 233 MHz AMD-K6 MMX Enhanced Processor, 100 MB Iomega Zip Drive, 48 MB SyncDRAM memory, and an overall system boost of 512KB L2 Pipeline Burst Cache, at a price that won't shock your budget--just $999.99!** Notice that even INTEL didn't get into that box! - Michael Coley - wwol.com