The third quarter has been seasonally soft for Compaq Computer Corp, but there is no question of the company following Apple Computer’s example and raising its prices, president Rod Canion told Reuters. Canion said that sales were lower in July than in June, and weaker again in August, but have improved this month, although whether or not profits will be the same as in the second quarter or lower, the company can’t yet judge. Canion stressed that the summer is usually soft, but that the company still looked for good growth for all of 1988. Exacerbating the softness is the fact that much of Europe tends to take July and August off, and international sales are accounting for an increasing proportion of the total – 35% this year against 27% in 1987. Canion earler said that the new Deskpro 386 machines had recorded the highest initial order level of any new Compaq product, and that the company is still significantly behind demand, which is increasing into the last quarter.
