Subject:
IBM (NYSE:IBM) fires new volley in PC price war
Date:
Thu, 19 Mar 1998 10:29:26 -0800 (PST)
From:
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News Alert from Reuters via Quote.com
Topic: (NYSE:IBM) Intl Business Machines Corp, (NYSE:CPQ) Compaq Computer Corp,
Quote.com News Item #5819011
Headline: IBM (NYSE:IBM) fires new volley in PC price war
======================================================================
By Richard Melville
NEW YORK, March 19 (Reuters) - Another day, another price
cut.
So it seems in the personal computer market, where on
Thursday, a day after rival Compaq Computer Corp. (NYSE:CPQ) cut
prices up to 11 percent on certain corporate PCs, International
Business Machines Corp. retaliated by slashing prices up to 20
percent on business PCs.
The moves extend a wave of price cuts in the commercial PC
market, where IBM is seeking to reverse stagnant market share
and Compaq is struggling to deal with surplus inventories of
unsold machines, all while growth in corporate demand for
systems appears to be slackening.
While an IBM spokesman deflected talk of a price war, IBM's
latest lineup of corporate PCs now starts at $839, $20 lower
than the least expensive model offered by Compaq after
Wednesday's price reductions.
While falling prices have long been a feature of the
personal computer industry, the start of 1998 has been marked
by an unusual level of discounting, analysts said.
"What we've seen is an increased frequency of price
declines," said Joe Loiselle, an analyst at International Data
Corp. "And the cumulative effect has been more intense price
reductions.
In some ways, IBM took the pricing fight a step further
than Compaq by reserving its steepest cuts for PCs built around
Intel Corp's (NASDAQ:INTC) Pentium II processors.
Compaq, however, took the unusual move yesterday of
offering free monitors with the purchase of certain desktop
systems. IBM cut prices on its monitors but did not match the
free monitor promotion.
Loiselle said both IBM and Compaq had particular incentive
to try to stimulate sales, because both are trying to clear out
systems to make room for new lineups due this spring.
But while aggressive pricing has proven very successful in
building consumer demand, Loiselle said the corporate market
could prove a tougher sell.
"A lot of these products have an air of obsolescence," he
said. "And companies, if they were planning to upgrade, are not
going to upgrade to obsolete machines."
Subject:
IBM Lowers Prices Up to 20 Percent on Pentium II/MMX Business PCs; Customers Benefit From
Savings Generated by Inventory and Distribution Leadership
Date:
Thu, 19 Mar 1998 09:46:41 -0800 (PST)
From:
staff@quote.com
To:
quotecom-users@quote.com
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News Alert from BusinessWire via Quote.com
Topic: (NYSE:IBM) Intl Business Machines Corp,
Quote.com News Item #5818523
Headline: IBM Lowers Prices Up to 20 Percent on Pentium II/MMX Business PCs;
Customers Benefit From Savings Generated by Inventory and Distribution
Leadership
======================================================================
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 19, 1998--
IBM (a) today reduced prices on its best-selling Intel Pentium (b)
II commercial desktop computers by up to 20 percent, and by up to 13
percent on business PCs featuring Intel's MMX (b) technology.
The IBM PC 300GL, introduced last month, is now priced at just
$1,099 (1), and features a 233 MHz (2) Pentium II processor, 16 MB (3)
of SDRAM, and a 2.5 GB (3) hard drive.
"Unlike companies cutting prices only on older systems, IBM is
also offering significant savings on our hottest-selling Pentium II
based models," said Rod Adkins general manager, IBM Desktop Systems.
"We will continue to assert our leadership and ensure that the cost
savings we've realized through our channel initiatives are passed on
to our customers."
Reductions of up to 13 percent were taken on the award-winning PC
300GL and PC 300PL featuring MMX technology, with prices now starting
at $839 (1). In addition, IBM lowered prices on its popular General
Business Series monitors by as much as 14 percent. For example, the
G51, 15-inch color monitor now starts at $239 (1). This follows price
reductions earlier this week of up to 36 percent on selected Flat
Panel models.
IBM's aggressive pricing results from cost efficiencies achieved
under its Advanced Fulfillment Initiative (AFI). By improving
everything from product design and parts procurement, to forecasting,
assembly and delivery, AFI is lowering product inventories and
generating savings which are passed on to customers.
IBM offers the most highly managed PCs in the industry. The PC
300GL features IBM's widely imitated Wake on LAN (a) technology (4)
and is supported by IBM LANClient Control Manager (a) (LCCM) software.
Together, IBM's Wake on LAN and LCCM enable customers to perform a
wide range of tasks remotely and unattended, such as updating BIOS and
CMOS settings, installing an operating system image, and powering-off
the system.
All IBM PC 300GL and PC 300PL models come pre-loaded with Windows
NT (c) or Windows 95. |
