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

To: Ken Pomaranski who wrote (57252)	7/17/1998 12:56:00 AM
From: the Druid	Respond to of 58324

Not many posts here considering the great earnings:). That is a good sign. It is never good to see people lose money over this wonder stock.

To: Ken Pomaranski who wrote (57252)	7/17/1998 2:20:00 AM
From: Martin Olsen	Respond to of 58324

"My only question is this: (and no bull will answer this): How will Iomega magically start making money again? They can't create more demand, the market is saturating, and the shift is moving more toward non power users (OEMs) What fundamental shift will occur?" Ken, If I could answer your questions I wouldn't be a regular ol' middle-class Joe. BUT, in my estimation, there is still a rather large niche in data storage that has yet to be filled. Yes, some new technologies are emerging that make the 100Mb Zip seem puny, but for Joe User, the 1.44Mb is still an inadequate standard. There is a need to replace it, and I still think Zip can do it. Okay, it didn't happen as fast as I thought it would, but it is still possible, and with every Zip disk sold, the wild dream of floppy replacement via Zip becomes a byte more realistic. I am holding on and hoping that some day we can all look back on this and have a good laugh... -M

To: Ken Pomaranski who wrote (57252)	7/17/1998 2:54:00 AM
From: May Tran	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 58324

I totally disagree with your statement "each user uses 6-10 disks and stops." All of my friends, family members, and the business people I know own more than 6-10 zip disks. My mom has over 70 zip disks and most people I know have an average of 30 disks. The zip is popular especially in the graphic design business. I myself have 8 zip drives, two built in my Macs, and 6 beautiful blue boxes. Therefore, I believe the zip is far from dead. I even had a cheap skate friend who tried buying a Sparq Q. After a little over a month the stupid thing broke down. To top it off there was no warranty that came with it. To all longs out there or anyone else giving up hope, patience is the key. I remember when I bought apple at 12 and everyone was saying apple is dying and they are going bankruptcy and nobody is using there products now. But look at the baby now! It was up more than 3 today and is above 37! And remember when Iom was at 12 something last year and it shot up to 32? I have quoted this many times and let me do it again "to invest in a stock one must have the vision to see it, the COURAGE to buy it, and the PATIENCE to hold it" -George Baker GOOD LUCK TO ALL PATRICIA

To: Ken Pomaranski who wrote (57252)	7/17/1998 8:55:00 AM
From: Craig Richards	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 58324

How will Iomega magically start making money again? They can't create more demand, the market is saturating, and the shift is moving more toward non power users (OEMs) What fundamental shift will occur? If someone could answer this to my satisfaction, I will probably buy the stock again. Ken, This is a very important question. Did you listen to the conference call? They talked about a lot of ways they are planning on saving money. Linda posted a link to a statement that they will shave $50 million of operating expenses for the 2nd half of the year. They have increased their manufacturing quality so that Zip and Jazz return rates have fallen. I think they stated that returns are down 30% due to increased manufacturing quality. At one point they stated they have shaved $8 off the cost of the ATAPI Zip drive by redesigning it with fewer chips. They are working with OEMs to qualify this new lower priced drive. They are also looking at further cost reductions. They are also cutting back on TV ads, instead using their marketing money for more focused channel promotions, as well as increased advertising in Europe and Asia. They are improving their supply chain management, and hope to get inventory turns up to 8, from the current ratio of 3 or 4. They are working on cutting down their inventory more, as well as lowering their accounts receivable. Their DSOs have fallen to the 30's from the 50's. They have made a lot of progress in these areas in a short time, and they are committed to making a lot more progress in the 2nd half of the year. Also, they said preliminary studies indicate that the tie ratio of OEM Zips is the same as for retail. The news on Zip is very good, but was offset by very poor performance of Jazz and Ditto. I think they have a good handle on controlling costs, which IMO is the key to returning IOM to profitability. Craig