The problems at IBM Corp are writ large at Compagnie des Machines Bull SA, and the company needs to adopt a clearer strategy to stem its mounting losses, French Industry Minister Gerard Longuet told Les Echos: he said Bull, which has lost $2,570m over the past three years, was adrift and needed to be taken in hand; asked if Bull should abandon personal computers, he replied, It’s not at the heart of the matter; if it can be managed in such a way as not to put the future of the firm in question, all well and good – but that means sharing the effort with others; he said that the accord with Packard Bell Electronics Inc may have looked as if Bull were getting deeper into microcomputing, but in reality it was a step towards changing Bull’s involvement in the sector; Bull’s strengths are its recognised scientific and technological capacity and its major, quality customers; its difficulty is building a resolute strategy in the worst possible climate in the sector, he said.
