The shrinking market is good for Gateway as well...if they still have any steam left to last through the year. If they survive the year,they will survive for years to come. It's do or die for them, because they have no other markets to fall back on. If they don't survive, it'll be Dell, Sony, Compaq and Apple...and NEC overseas...and eMachines for the bottom of the barrel stuff. I don't think IBM will be making consumer desktops by the end of the year.
Interesting that after Apple lost the "OS wars" that it's in the thick of the, uh, "hardware wars." There's some kind of irony in that. Licensing their OS didn't win them a war, but they might manage to be one of the last men standing with their hardware despite earlier wisdom. Would OS matter much if there's only three players in a the hardware market anyway? And with AOL/Time Warner mulling its own OS (Red Hat purchase) with dreams of licensing it, it might make this a three party system -- with Apple as the Reform Party in distant third.
I would miss HP in the market place since losing competition is almost always a bad thing. I think it's sad that the CEO of HP thinks that a merger with Compaq will somehow help HP out in the consumer PC market. Compaq and HP make almost identical desktop computer lines, a merger between the two of them seems redundant. HP does make very nice PA-RISC workstations (although they've sold out to Intel for IA-64 in the future) and Compaq makes nice servers. And how a merger with Compaq will save HP's imaging/print group is beyond me as well.
[quote]Originally posted by Fran441:
<strong>This is going to be interesting. In places like CompUSA, you'll have Compaq (terrible reputation for workstations) along side eMachines (POS machines), and Sony (expensive for what you get, somewhat limited for upgrading).
</strong><hr></blockquote>
Places like CompUSA do not sell workstations, I think you are confusing the term workstation with desktop PC, two very different things.
[quote]<strong> They want you to go to their store, pick out a machine, and then ship it to you. If people want to go out of their way and actually go someplace to buy a computer, they want to walk out with one. Gateway seemed to miss that point when you can go online and buy a similar Dell machine without leaving your house.</strong><hr></blockquote>
People who are financial analysts and business majors would want you to do the exact same thing. It's more efficient from an inventory standpoint to not actually stock the computers in the store. In fact Gateway did start stocking some computers at Christmas time and took a big hit on their stock in response as most analysts felt this wasn't a good idea.
[quote]Sure, but try getting them on the phone. Even with a preferred business plan, you can spend hours on the phone waiting to get parts, service, etc.
<hr></blockquote>
I don't have any experience with desktop service but for workstations and server support I've always found Dell very responsive to calls 24 hours a day. They were always onsite to fix the problem the next day if it required such action as well.
<strong>I would miss HP in the market place since losing competition is almost always a bad thing. </strong><hr></blockquote>
How much of it is real competition, though? They're all offering essentially the same components in the same cases with the same software. A market where the only differential is price is not healthy: Few, if any, of the tactics that allow a company to win a price war in a commodity market are good for consumers. All of the companies that really engineered PCs, for example, are long dead.
[quote]<strong>I think it's sad that the CEO of HP thinks that a merger with Compaq will somehow help HP out in the consumer PC market. Compaq and HP make almost identical desktop computer lines, a merger between the two of them seems redundant.</strong><hr></blockquote>
That's probably what she sees as an improvement: she's hoping to get both revenue streams, and since the computers are the same anyway, it eliminates a certain amount of consumer confusion.
Not a very strong argument, but I don't think it's what she's really interested in. She wants Compaq's enterprise stuff.
[quote]<strong>And how a merger with Compaq will save HP's imaging/print group is beyond me as well.</strong><hr></blockquote>
I'd guess that's just Carly playing hardball with the shareholders. Nobody wants HP Imaging to go away, so if its future hangs on the merger...
[quote]<strong>I don't have any experience with desktop service but for workstations and server support I've always found Dell very responsive to calls 24 hours a day. They were always onsite to fix the problem the next day if it required such action as well.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Speaking from experience, as an employee of an organization with Dell's highest level of service: It sucks. Badly.
Hmmm, maybe I could try and convince my school system to start using macs again, we have been stuck with gateways for 3 years (they replaced mac systems). Maybe Apple could land a iBook deal with Maryland?
<strong>Hmmm, maybe I could try and convince my school system to start using macs again, we have been stuck with gateways for 3 years (they replaced mac systems). Maybe Apple could land a iBook deal with Maryland?</strong><hr></blockquote>
It's definately worth a shot trying to convince them.
[quote]People who are financial analysts and business majors would want you to do the exact same thing. It's more efficient from an inventory standpoint to not actually stock the computers in the store. In fact Gateway did start stocking some computers at Christmas time and took a big hit on their stock in response as most analysts felt this wasn't a good idea.<hr></blockquote>
That's because they didn't do it from the start...but they really couldn't do it from the start because they were naive enough to open over three hundred Gateway Country's in deserted locales like mini-malls and outlet-malls.
People that know they are going to have to wait for their computer to be shipped to them are likely going to order off the web themselves anyway.
People that don't know are going to be surprised and alarmed upon discovery that they'll have to pay for shipping in addition to sales tax and won't have their computer for days!
Most stores retain loyal customers because they are convenient.
It's may be more efficient to have no inventory, but if you force hidden fees upon a customer and make him wait, you risk losing a sale. You don't gain many customers and you fold...Whichever method nets you more money is best, efficiency be damned.
If you start a brick and mortar store, you do it right. If you want to have no inventory issues, you stick to direct sales...you don't combine the worst of the two.
All that money they used to open those stores could have been used for an advertising blitzkrieg.
Financial analysts and business majors want you to buy stuff, period.
[quote]People who are financial analysts and business majors would want you to do the exact same thing. It's more efficient from an inventory standpoint to not actually stock the computers in the store. In fact Gateway did start stocking some computers at Christmas time and took a big hit on their stock in response as most analysts felt this wasn't a good idea.<hr></blockquote>
That's because they didn't do it from the start...but they really couldn't do it from the start because they were naive enough to open over three hundred Gateway Country's in deserted locales like mini-malls and outlet-malls.
People that know they are going to have to wait for their computer to be shipped to them are likely going to order off the web themselves anyway.
People that don't know are going to be surprised and alarmed upon discovery that they'll have to pay for shipping in addition to sales tax and won't have their computer for days!
Most stores retain loyal customers because they are convenient.
It's may be more efficient to have no inventory, but if you force hidden fees upon a customer and make him wait, you risk losing a sale. You don't gain many customers and you fold...Whichever method nets you more money is best, efficiency be damned.
If you start a brick and mortar store, you do it right. If you want to have no inventory issues, you stick to direct sales...you don't combine the worst of the two.
All that money they used to open those stores could have been used for an advertising blitzkrieg.
Financial analysts and business majors want you to buy stuff, period.
Comments
Interesting times...
[ 01-19-2002: Message edited by: Eugene ]</p>
[quote]Originally posted by Fran441:
<strong>This is going to be interesting. In places like CompUSA, you'll have Compaq (terrible reputation for workstations) along side eMachines (POS machines), and Sony (expensive for what you get, somewhat limited for upgrading).
</strong><hr></blockquote>
Places like CompUSA do not sell workstations, I think you are confusing the term workstation with desktop PC, two very different things.
[quote]<strong> They want you to go to their store, pick out a machine, and then ship it to you. If people want to go out of their way and actually go someplace to buy a computer, they want to walk out with one. Gateway seemed to miss that point when you can go online and buy a similar Dell machine without leaving your house.</strong><hr></blockquote>
People who are financial analysts and business majors would want you to do the exact same thing. It's more efficient from an inventory standpoint to not actually stock the computers in the store. In fact Gateway did start stocking some computers at Christmas time and took a big hit on their stock in response as most analysts felt this wasn't a good idea.
[quote]Sure, but try getting them on the phone. Even with a preferred business plan, you can spend hours on the phone waiting to get parts, service, etc.
<hr></blockquote>
I don't have any experience with desktop service but for workstations and server support I've always found Dell very responsive to calls 24 hours a day. They were always onsite to fix the problem the next day if it required such action as well.
<strong>I would miss HP in the market place since losing competition is almost always a bad thing. </strong><hr></blockquote>
How much of it is real competition, though? They're all offering essentially the same components in the same cases with the same software. A market where the only differential is price is not healthy: Few, if any, of the tactics that allow a company to win a price war in a commodity market are good for consumers. All of the companies that really engineered PCs, for example, are long dead.
[quote]<strong>I think it's sad that the CEO of HP thinks that a merger with Compaq will somehow help HP out in the consumer PC market. Compaq and HP make almost identical desktop computer lines, a merger between the two of them seems redundant.</strong><hr></blockquote>
That's probably what she sees as an improvement: she's hoping to get both revenue streams, and since the computers are the same anyway, it eliminates a certain amount of consumer confusion.
Not a very strong argument, but I don't think it's what she's really interested in. She wants Compaq's enterprise stuff.
[quote]<strong>And how a merger with Compaq will save HP's imaging/print group is beyond me as well.</strong><hr></blockquote>
I'd guess that's just Carly playing hardball with the shareholders. Nobody wants HP Imaging to go away, so if its future hangs on the merger...
[quote]<strong>I don't have any experience with desktop service but for workstations and server support I've always found Dell very responsive to calls 24 hours a day. They were always onsite to fix the problem the next day if it required such action as well.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Speaking from experience, as an employee of an organization with Dell's highest level of service: It sucks. Badly.
<strong>Hmmm, maybe I could try and convince my school system to start using macs again, we have been stuck with gateways for 3 years (they replaced mac systems). Maybe Apple could land a iBook deal with Maryland?</strong><hr></blockquote>
It's definately worth a shot trying to convince them.
Dell contracts out their nationwide on site service to other companies such as Qualxserv.
Interestingly enough, Qualxserv also does on site support for Apple.
That's because they didn't do it from the start...but they really couldn't do it from the start because they were naive enough to open over three hundred Gateway Country's in deserted locales like mini-malls and outlet-malls.
People that know they are going to have to wait for their computer to be shipped to them are likely going to order off the web themselves anyway.
People that don't know are going to be surprised and alarmed upon discovery that they'll have to pay for shipping in addition to sales tax and won't have their computer for days!
Most stores retain loyal customers because they are convenient.
It's may be more efficient to have no inventory, but if you force hidden fees upon a customer and make him wait, you risk losing a sale. You don't gain many customers and you fold...Whichever method nets you more money is best, efficiency be damned.
If you start a brick and mortar store, you do it right. If you want to have no inventory issues, you stick to direct sales...you don't combine the worst of the two.
All that money they used to open those stores could have been used for an advertising blitzkrieg.
Financial analysts and business majors want you to buy stuff, period.
That's because they didn't do it from the start...but they really couldn't do it from the start because they were naive enough to open over three hundred Gateway Country's in deserted locales like mini-malls and outlet-malls.
People that know they are going to have to wait for their computer to be shipped to them are likely going to order off the web themselves anyway.
People that don't know are going to be surprised and alarmed upon discovery that they'll have to pay for shipping in addition to sales tax and won't have their computer for days!
Most stores retain loyal customers because they are convenient.
It's may be more efficient to have no inventory, but if you force hidden fees upon a customer and make him wait, you risk losing a sale. You don't gain many customers and you fold...Whichever method nets you more money is best, efficiency be damned.
If you start a brick and mortar store, you do it right. If you want to have no inventory issues, you stick to direct sales...you don't combine the worst of the two.
All that money they used to open those stores could have been used for an advertising blitzkrieg.
Financial analysts and business majors want you to buy stuff, period.