To: Mr Metals who wrote (617 ) 4/21/1998 9:13:00 PM From: Van Nguyen Read Replies (4) | Respond to
Mr. Metal,Like Zenith, K-tel is a company that everyone remembers, which some take to mean that there is a vibrant brand name to lend credence to the story. Maybe so, but to hear from an analyst initiating coverage of K-tel with a "strong buy" rating because of its successful history of music retailing, I would just point investors to K-tel's stock chart. Outside of this week's manic run-up, the company has built zero shareholder value since starting to trade as K-tel in 1993 . The Internet doesn't build the market for music. It may expand it for that marginal buyer who doesn't order things over the telephone or who is an impulsive buyer while sitting at the computer, but it's not a whole new world out there. K-tel is far behind the curve and already operates in a medium where advertising costs are a fraction of what the Internet advertising costs and where operating costs per order -- for a person sitting at a phone with an X-terminal computer -- are lower than putting in Alpha servers, running a T-3, and paying out the ying yang for exclusive marketing agreements. fnews.yahoo.com
