Micron getting back on track, CEO says
"We're growing again," said Joel Kocher, chairman and CEO of Micron (Nasdaq:MUEI), a direct-PC vendor based in Nampa, Idaho.
Kocher did not say the firm was totally back on track, after a year where it's been in the press as much for being offered about as for new product announcements. But he's optimistic that the company's new focus on small to medium businesses will help, even after Compaq Computer Corp. (NYSE:CPQ) announced today that it, too, will begin selling direct into that market. Kocher does not think Compaq will succeed with this foray into the direct market any more than it did with previous efforts.
"A pig dressed in a fur coat is still a pig," he said.
Kocher, also a top executive at direct sellers Dell Computer Corp. (Nasdaq:DELL) and Power Computing Inc., admits his strong bias in favor of the direct sales model. But he thinks that Compaq is not totally committed to direct sales, and that will hurt the Houston computer giant.
"Yes, I think Compaq got more competitive on price, but they still have no affinity for or understanding of the direct customer," said Kocher. Kocher said he had called the new Compaq 800 number, and that he had two impressions: "They don't know what they're doing, and they'll figure that out. But, it's obvious when you're talking to them that it's not Compaq people."
Brand name key
Compaq, though, is not Kocher's main concern. That would be raising the profile of the company's name.
"The wind is in our face with the brand issue. If we don't solve it, it's a fait accompli" that the company will not make it in the long run, he said. Kocher says a new ad campaign has helped Micron increase its brand visibility from 8 percent to 15 percent in just three months.
"We also have to execute, now. We don't have a lot of time to play with. But we have an opportunity to pull it off."
If Micron does, it may be in the right place at the right time. Kocher predicts that within the next decade, and possibly as soon as five years from now, 70 percent to 80 percent of PC sales will be through the direct channel. Compaq has "not a chance" of remaining the No. 1 PC maker, in Kocher's opinion.
"Compaq isn't No. 1 in the U.S. today. I don't believe in the hybrid model, and I don't believe in the reseller model."
The Net's role
The Internet will help drive sales, and so will new venues, such as kiosks in malls. Kocher said Micron is considering kiosks that will give mall goers access to its PCs without having to set up stores.
"The Web becomes the vehicle" for driving sales, he said. "In the next decade, (the Web) will spawn a whole lot of direct buying."
Kocher declined to say how much of the company's sales currently come from its Web site, other than to say that the percentage compared favorably with other PC makers. He noted, though, that the majority of Micron's buyers use the company's Web site for research before calling in to make a purchase. The company put up a totally revised version of its Web site in the last week, which Kocher thinks will encourage more users to buy from the site.
"Until last week I wouldn't even hit on my own Web site. Today, I would welcome you to my site."