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

To: Ben Antanaitis who wrote (50905)	3/22/1998 11:22:00 AM
From: Christopher Saridakis	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 58324

I am looking to but IOM at these levels, any advice. suggestions, comments?

To: Ben Antanaitis who wrote (50905)	3/22/1998 12:35:00 PM
From: RICH NACHREINER	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 58324

I currently have a small position in IOM, held primarily from pre free fall days. I would like to share a few of my observations: 1)As far as the advertising campaign I am confused by the target audience. I noted several spreads in the WSJ. Was this directed at consumers or at the street? If it was addressed to potential customers I don't think it worked in the short term. If it was aimed at the street all I think we gained was very limited impact as I don't think the content was there. 2)IOM should target tie-in products. a)I am an accountant in private industry. I work with many accountants that do tax returns. Do you know how many rely simply on hard drive data retention? Perfect market for ZIP or Jazz, as the practice of no backup is eventual suicide. (Could have teamed up with turbotax or tax cut and solved their rebate headache also) b)Buy one get one free(works great in the cosmetic industry). Make a deal with a scanner company for zip and/or JAZ(many now retailing after mfg. rebate for under $100). Instead of offering rebates which just drain cash, create demand for space at the same time. 3)BTW for those pushing price cuts I noticed an ad in Sunday NY Newsday for ZIP at Staples @$129 with a $50 IOM rebate.(net $79) 4)Has anyone ever really seen a working Clik at any of the expos? I am beginning to share Rocky's Vapor thoughts. Anyone can make a fancy plastic case. Saw the PBS bit a couple of weeks ago and they did a nice talk, but when it came to showing the product in action, they did the old cooking show routine, where the meal is already cooked and served. If Clik is real I can't believe Kodak isn't jumping all over it. It would be the perfect product because it still lets the average consumer hold the photos in their hand. The old bring the film to the counter so I can see my pictures, make copies etc. will still die hard with the average consumer. At $10 a pop for quality photos Kodak needs this. 5)I am curious as to the purpose of the February IOM press release of JAZ 2 shipping. As indicated on this thread and elsewhere, quantity is just barely getting to the market now. 6)I wonder what will happen when JAZ 2 price cuts are announced? It can't possibly cost $400 more to make the new JAZ. Knowing how the street hates IOM it will probably be viewed as a big negative when the price drops.(It probably did make sense to start with such a high price because we didn't have any to sell anyway!) 7)Last but by no means least, I am perplexed by the current quarter projection for sales and income and wonder why we just don't hire a Clinton spin doctor to at least accentuate the positives. Considering that Jaz 2 has virtually no impact on sales this quarter; jaz 1 sales are probably down because who wants an 'old' product; buz has a very LIMITED market; and with price cuts on ZIP, unit sales are probably up over last year with total sales $ flat. This would lead me to 'spin' the story of eventual benefit of the advertising campaign with increased disk sales in the second quarter and big sales gains resulting from Jaz2 deliveries in the 2nd quarter. If management does not see the advertising payoff as quarter 2 starts I suggest curtailing the spending increase. This could have a $10MM+ favorable impact on the quarter. I am interested in any comments that readers may have.