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To: Stoctrash who wrote (34559)	7/21/1998 2:09:00 PM
From: John Rieman	Respond to of 50808

Chinese consumers have low confidence, but they are curious............................ Curious In China Survey offers insight on shoppers, competitiveness -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Trish Saywell in Hong Kong -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- July 9, 1998 M arketers agonizing over what consumers in China really seek from a brand can take heart. The hot tip is that even the Chinese themselves don't necessarily know what they like--although they are adventurous and will try anything once. "They're curious--they want to check out everything," says Colin Bates, director of strategic planning at Grey Advertising in Hong Kong, commenting on the results of a recent survey of consumers in four major Chinese cities. "We get the strong sense that even if a consumer knows your brand, he will choose an unknown brand sitting on the shelf next to it because it's new." For foreign manufacturers, that indicates only one thing: To stay competitive, they'll have to try harder to keep their brands up-to-date with innovative packaging and newer technology, says Bates. And as the quality of local brands improves, and the battle for consumers shifts into China's second-tier cities such as Wuhan, Chongqing and Hangzhou, foreign companies will also have to concentrate on improving distribution and service networks. The upshot: Making inroads into the Chinese market may be getting tougher for foreigners. For one thing, consumers in China's major cities have already purchased the essential big-ticket items like refrigerators, washing machines and television sets and have little intention to buy replacements, executives at Grey Advertising say. "People talk about China being a developing market, but in the urban areas, it's already a mature market for many products," says Bates. "For many brands it's going to be much harder in the future than it has in the past." Grey bases these conclusions on the results of ChinaBase 98, a survey it conducted in January and February with Research International China. The report, due for public release on July 9, delves into the likes and dislikes of 800 consumers in four cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Guangzhou. Based on door-to-door interviews, the survey has a statistical sampling error of plus or minus 2.5%. Among other highlights of the findings, given to the REVIEW in an exclusive preview: -- 75% of respondents always looked out for new products. -- 68% cut down on expenses wherever they could. -- Some people are "leapfrogging" technology. For example, they're buying sophisticated digital video-disk players, completely ignoring the intermediate level of videocassette recorders. More...................... feer.com

To: Stoctrash who wrote (34559)	7/21/1998 2:49:00 PM
From: DiViT	Read Replies (5) \| Respond to of 50808

Can someone with a math degree check my math. Zacks sent out this EMail on estimate revision by RS after earnings: ESTIMATE REVISIONS: CUBE: BANCAM/ROB STEP decreased estimate for fiscal year ending 12/98 from $1.17 to $1.05 on 07/17/98 CUBE: BANCAM/ROB STEP decreased estimate for fiscal year ending 12/99 from $1.42 to $1.37 on 07/17/98 CUBE: BANCAM/ROB STEP decreased estimate for quarter ending 09/98 from $0.29 to $0.25 on 07/17/98 CUBE: BANCAM/ROB STEP decreased estimate for quarter ending 12/98 from $0.35 to $0.30 on 07/17/98 CUBE: BANCAM/ROB STEP decreased estimate for quarter ending 03/99 from $0.35 to $0.32 on 07/17/98 CUBE: BANCAM/ROB STEP decreased estimate for quarter ending 06/99 from $0.31 to $0.29 on 07/17/98 CUBE: BANCAM/ROB STEP has reiterated estimate for quarter ending 09/99 of $0.34 on 07/17/98 CUBE: BANCAM/ROB STEP increased estimate for quarter ending 12/99 from $0.42 to $0.43 on 07/17/98 Now I get this (correction?): ESTIMATE REVISIONS: CUBE: BANCAM/ROB STEP increased estimate for quarter ending 09/99 from $0.34 to $0.36 on 07/20/98 CUBE: BANCAM/ROB STEP increased estimate for quarter ending 12/99 from $0.43 to $0.45 on 07/20/98 So I took the '99 numbers and added them up. .32 + .29 +.36 + .45 = 1.42 for '99. yet the previous Zack's mail sez: CUBE: BANCAM/ROB STEP decreased estimate for fiscal year ending 12/99 from $1.42 to $1.37 on 07/17/98 Why no correction? I think we still see confusion from the street about this company. Is it because because of PR? Perhaps, but maybe it's just perception in the minds of some, who need to blame others and not themselves. ESST, ZRAN had enough PR to drive thier stock to dizzying heights, now how's their PR and stock doing? BTW: The company gives access to the analysts who call. Just ask any of the analysts that follow. They are listed on Cube's site.