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From: gft_robert@gsbacd.uchicago.edu
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next
Subject: Re: NeXT Positioning Problem
Message-ID: <1990Nov11.233143.10077@midway.uchicago.edu>
Date: 12 Nov 90 00:23:26 GMT
Sender: news@midway.uchicago.edu (News Administrator)
Organization: University of Chicago Graduate School of Business
Lines: 38

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In article <1990Nov11.230616.15911@agate.berkeley.edu>, knrgroup@garnet.berkeley.edu (Raymond group) writes...
[...]

>Another false assumption based on a comparison of apples and oranges (or Apples
>and NeXTs).  Apple has HUGE profit margins.  Can you say 66% or even higher?

I can say it.  But it isn't so.  Apple's profit margins are around 50%, plus or
minus (generally plus).  And that's before their profit margins dropped with
the new low-priced machines.  Their profit margins are still high for the
industry.

>NeXT can still make a healthy profit while underselling higher cost Macs by a
>factor of two! 

I'd be very curious to see the business analysis that is behind this statement
(since Next is privately held, I'm assuming you had to guess at some of the
figures when making out the balance sheet, but it still would be interesting).

>That covers about half of the intended NeXT market.  The other half is 
>business, and NeXT is getting some large orders from large businesses.  Apple
>never really cracked the Fortune 1000 market.  It looks like NeXT is
>starting to.

Uh, yeah, right.  Apple does not have a large share of the business market,
due in large part to what I think we can all agree were bad moves by Apple
management, but to say that it never cracked the business world is, well,
silly.  Particularly if you consider that the 15,000 to 20,000 orders Next has
(supposedly) piled up "starting to crack" the business market.

Robert


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= gft_robert@gsbacd.uchicago.edu * generic disclaimer: * "It's more fun to =
=            		         * all my opinions are *  compute"         =
=                                * mine                *  -Kraftwerk       =
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