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Big Supply, No Demand (12/1/00)
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Speaking of Apple's return to the doom and gloom of yesteryear, does anyone else think it's interesting that the last time Apple got beat up so hard so consistently in the press, the company lost a billion dollars in a year? For Apple to get tagged as "beleaguered" again when it's still profitable and growing seems just a little disproportionate to the circumstances. Then again, at least it beats more election coverage, so who are we to complain? Anyway, in these troubled times, our day wouldn't be complete without at least one tech-industry article about the ever-deepening sinkhole in Cupertino. On that front, CNET never fails to satisfy; in the wake of Gateway's earnings warning and stock meltdown yesterday, the site published an article about-- curiously enough-- nastiness ahead for Compaq and Apple. Hey, why not? Share the pain!
Here's the scoop: apparently both Compaq and Apple are facing excessively large inventories of unsold product. While most companies "seek to keep inventory at four weeks or below," Apple's sitting on a zaftig eleven weeks' worth of channel-sitting Macs. That might sound like padding in anticipation of higher-than-usual holiday season demand, but Christmas is less than four weeks away; somehow we doubt that Apple's sales are going to triple just because the malls are full of green and red decorations. Meanwhile, all those unsold Cubes are gathering dust and depreciating like... well, like unsold Cubes gathering dust. Given Apple's ongoing sales slump, the inventory problem may well get worse before it gets better.
Then again, this shouldn't come as a huge surprise. If you tuned in to Apple's last conference call, you heard Fred and Steve tell us all to expect a rough quarter while the company gets things back on track. Still, it's a downer to hear that when the next earnings statement is posted next month, it's probably going to look like a road accident-- or, at least as much of a road accident as possible while still remaining profitable. That's just the kind of news that might kill whatever buzz and momentum Apple can build when it unveils new gear at the Expo the week before. Ah, well-- at least it's never boring.
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SceneLink (2716)
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 12/1/00 episode: December 1, 2000: Years of rumors and speculation finally bear fruit, as Disney signs a computer purchasing agreement with-- Compaq?! Meanwhile, strange doings and pink slips are afoot over at MacAddict.com, and Apple faces an inventory crisis of Super Big Gulp proportions...
Other scenes from that episode: 2714: The Big Mouse's Treachery (12/1/00) Heads up, hardcore Disney-Apple conspiracy theorists; you may suddenly have a much tougher time crafting your elaborate scenarios of collusion between Steve's gang and the minions of Walt. Rumors that Disney would buy Apple outright have been making the rounds since the "Steamboat Willie" days, though of course, so far that unholy alliance has yet to gel-- "still in the planning stages," as the true believers might put it... 2715: Another One Bites The Dot (12/1/00) One classic sign of a Mac industry on a downward slide is the sudden disappearance of one or more print publications. Remember when MacWEEK decided to go online-only? Remember when MacUser was bought by and assimilated into Macworld?...
Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast... | |  |
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