Micron Electronics Inc has its eye on moving up the ranks in the PC direct marketing arena and feels that its recently announced realignment (CI No 3,429) will position it well to pull closer to the number two player in that space, Gateway Inc. President and chief operating officer Joel Kocher – who helped build Dell Computer Corp’s direct sales engine in his seven years there, ending in 1994 when he left his post as president of worldwide marketing – said that the company has faltered in the past due to anemic sales and marketing. Kocher feels that if that hadn’t been the case, Micron could have been Gateway, which, at $6bn, generates three times the revenue of Micron. It is a sad state of affairs when a $2bn company can’t convince people that it is relevant, however, Kocher said. Now that the company has restructured, realigned itself with new units to focus on specific market segments, overhauled it product line (60% of its products are new ones) and got its financial house in order (CI No 3,432), Micron plans to do everything it can to build its brand. It has revamped its sales force with new blood and new management. It will focus more energy on services and support and pay closer attention to its optimum market of medium-to-large private companies and departments of Fortune 2000 firms. It will also have to put a lot of energy into winning mind share among the consumer segment, as it generates little revenue in that market today, evidenced by the fact that roughly 40% of its systems currently ship with Windows NT. The company plans to increase its marketing activities with a soon-to-launched advertising campaign, although no details were disclosed. With 25% to 30% of the market for PCs now going through the direct channel, Kocher is telling everyone who’ll listen that Micron is poised to become a major player. Only time will tell whether the third largest direct marketer of PCs will sink or swim.
