Mr. Robert Sethre

GLG News by Mr. Robert Sethre, Senior Consultant

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HP without printing: What are they thinking?

September 1, 2011

Analysis of:HP could sell printing division within two years, reports claim | www.printweek.com

Spurred by recent surprising developments and announcements at HP, an M&A intelligence firm predicts that HP could consider divesting the entire printing division. While there may be some high-level reasons why such a move might seem plausible, I consider it unlikely. Taking a closer look at the business drivers of the imaging industry in general and HP/IPG in particular, my conclusion is that this scenario, while worth a quick look, makes little business sense.

What is Xerox Becoming?

June 22, 2011

Analysis of:Xerox Chief Looks Beyond Photocopiers Toward Services | online.wsj.com

Historically, Xerox was a (the) copier company: copiers were the products, the business model and the overall corporate identity. As the world went digital, so did Xerox, rebranding themselves as "the document company." Now, Xerox is moving beyond the document into the broader business of technology-led services. This re-rebranding will certainly influence their offerings and approach to market and present certain challenges for understanding the Xerox business model and future prospects.

An Opportunity - New Times, New Faces

June 5, 2009

Analysis of:Xerox Appoints Burns as CEO | www.businessweek.com

This is a great opportunity for Xerox and Ursula Burns, though maybe not necessarily in that order.  Ursula Burns is certainly competent and well prepared, but given the current economic situation and imaging industry flux, there is nothing that can be taken for granted.  It remains to be seen whether she can continue the positive trajectory established for Xerox under the stewardship of Anne Mulcahy.

VPRT - Putting the Pieces Together

May 4, 2009

Analysis of:VistaPrint Shares Rise on 1Q Earnings, Outlook | finance.yahoo.com

Vistaprint has defied the physics of the market over the past six months by posting healthy growth in revenue, margins and stock price. They have achieved this by targeting an unspectacular but profitable customer group (SMB), which is somehow appropriate given the fact that they are part of an unspectacular but profitable sector (printing and imaging). With a strong focus on what drives business for their selected customers, they have worked to expand relevant offerings and execute on promoting and fulfilling their products. So far, the results speak volumes about their strategy and implementation.

Lexmark Downgrade - Should We/They Be concerned?

March 5, 2009

Analysis of:S&P downgrades Lexmark on profit challenges | www.marketwatch.com

The issues are not new, but they remain significant: Lexmark's product line development needs and excessive focus on the inkjet / consumer space. An improvement or even a stabilization of future results depends on addressing these topics.

Printing Companies' Message - Print Less, Save More?

February 25, 2009

Analysis of:Xerox Tries to Go Beyond Copiers | online.wsj.com

For decades, the imaging industry (especially the copier/MFP segment) thrived on the premise that hardware and print volume are the keys to success. Get and maintain the installs (the famous "MIF" - machines in field), and make sure they are well fed with toner. While the vendors hope to earn a bit if possible on the hardware, they want to ensure that they earn a lot on the consumables by encouraging their clients print / copy a lot. That was then, but a "new now" is emerging: the dual trends of economic pressures and increased capabilities for print output transparency are encouraging much better managed print fleets and workflows. Against all apparent logic, imaging companies are now encouraging their users to print less. Are these companies suicidal, or at the very least masochistic? Not at all, they are just seizing the trend and looking for a bigger piece of a smaller pie.

HP - Looking for the Balance (3)

February 25, 2009

Analysis of:HP profit slumps 13% on weak PC and ink sales | www.livemint.com

This commentary is a copy of the analysis submitted a few days ago regarding the same topic (commenting the WSJ article).  HP is highly successful and highly respected, and for good reason. Nonetheless, the earnings call was a missed opportunity to show strategic balance and direction for the company and the industry, especially regarding IPG (what the article calls the "printer and ink" division). In difficult economic times, expectations are high to get some key insights from market leaders, and HP still owes the market some indication of their plans to grow and thrive.

HP - Looking for the Balance (2)

February 23, 2009

Analysis of:HP cuts forecasts as sales miss target | www.ft.com

This text is a copy of the analysis submitted last week regarding the same topic (commenting the WSJ article).  HP is highly successful and highly respected, and for good reason. Nonetheless, the earnings call was a missed opportunity to show strategic balance and direction for the company and the industry, especially regarding IPG. In difficult economic times, expectations are high to get some key insights from market leaders, and HP still owes the market some indication of their plans to grow and thrive.

HP - Looking for the Balance (1)

February 23, 2009

Analysis of:HP's Mixed Outlook Irks Investors | www.forbes.com

This text is a copy of the analysis submitted last week regarding the same topic (commenting the WSJ article).  HP is highly successful and highly respected, and for good reason. Nonetheless, the earnings call was a missed opportunity to show strategic balance and direction for the company and the industry, especially regarding IPG. In difficult economic times, expectations are high to get some key insights from market leaders, and HP still owes the market some indication of their plans to grow and thrive.

HP - Looking for the Balance

February 19, 2009

Analysis of:H-P Feels Pull of Recession's Drag on PCs, Printers | online.wsj.com

HP is highly successful and highly respected, and for good reason. Nonetheless, the earnings call was a missed opportunity to show strategic balance and direction for the company and the industry, especially regarding IPG. In difficult economic times, expectations are high to get some key insights from market leaders, and HP still owes the market some indication of their plans to grow and thrive.

Xerox - Points to Watch

January 26, 2009

Analysis of:Xerox's Picture Lacks Clarity (Forbes) | www.forbes.com

The Xerox earnings call indicates disappointing but "not quite" disastrous results. The basic business model is intact, and the management team's confidence for the future of the market and the company is mostly justified, but we note several points which should be tracked to ensure that they are staying on the right course.

Lexmark - The Next Round

January 15, 2009

Analysis of:Lexmark Lowers Earnings Outlook, Will Cut 375 Jobs | www.marketwatch.com

Lexmark announced an earnings warning today ahead of its earnings call scheduled for January 27.  This is maybe not so surprising given the state of the industry and/or the state of the company, but it is important to determine which of these influences is playing a bigger role in today's announcement.

Smart Move, Smarter Strategies

January 7, 2009

Analysis of:Samsung: Rethinking the Printer Business | www.businessweek.com

Samsung has been positioning itself for some time to (finally) benefit from the lucrative printer/MFP industry.  This article describes some of these efforts, but does not cover the entire depth of Samsung's strategy and activities.  There is more to the story!

Kodak - A Picture of Desperation

December 17, 2008

Analysis of:Eastman Kodak withdraws 2008 revenue outlook | www.marketwatch.com

Kodak has been retooling their business for years, with some limited success. Still, they need to decide where to focus their attention and resources in the future, as the requirements of the respective business areas are collectively too much for them to handle. This announcement is not the first (but a significant) signal indicating the need for action. The final response will be more than cost cutting: it will involve some crucial decisions about which business areas to maintain and support and where it will be necessary to reduce or even withdraw. 

Lexmark - Corrective Action at Last?

July 23, 2008

Analysis of:Inkjets expected to smear earnings | www.kentucky.com

Lexmark results might stabilize or improve as a direct result of their limitation of exposure in the inkjet business.  Their laser-based offerings and vertical / application-based solutions for corporate clients are excellent and those results have been masked by the inkjet problems.  Still, it remains to be seen whether increased focus is the right strategy when competitors and customers are looking for more comprehensive offerings.

Memjet: an enticing development, but where will it fit?

June 4, 2007

Analysis of:Printing firm eyes HP turf | seattletimes.nwsource.com

In a rare reversal of roles for the market leader and established players, an upstart company's new technology confirms the new HP introduction and exposes the weaknesses of other manufacturers, especially in the inkjet space.  But the full impact of the Memjet product is unclear, until the final product definition and positioning are finalized.  Fast and cheap will not be enough in many cases, and it will be important to keep an eye of the company's eventual product line depth and breadth, as well as the final path to market.

Dumbing Down the Discussion: Style Trumps Substance

May 7, 2007

Analysis of:Teaching the Color Printer the Language of Humanity and a Palette of Precision | www.nytimes.com

This is an interesting and attention-grabbing invention, but the real implications are more strongly in the area of branding and PR rather than real-world user advantages.  In my opinion, this development has no real significance for the end user and should be neither presented nor understood as such.

Doing a lot of the right things, but can they show some agility?

November 17, 2006

Analysis of:Xerox Net Rises on Tax Gain, Sales of Color Machines | www.bloomberg.com

The quarterly results recently announced by Xerox were generally positive and probably well-deserved.

After a difficult period, they are unquestionably in a better financial situation. Looking at industry segments, they are doing a lot of things right and are (again) a formidable player/ competitor. Their business is well positioned towards key growth areas in the imaging industry: color, production and services/solutions.

Still, they will need to demonstrate some agility. Especially those key growth areas are attracting a lot of attention and competition, and Xerox will have to push hard and work quickly to keep near the front of the pack.

Printing and the Elections (2) - Paperless Workflows?

November 7, 2006

Analysis of:Lawmakers Pushing for Paper Trail As Backup | www.washingtonpost.com

This article shows one more example of politics imitating life.  The debate about paperless workflows vs. hardcopy output to ensure system accountability is a hot issue for everybody in a variety of business and other fields.

This discussion is certainly not new and the article shows a example of the discussion/dilemma in the context of the current election.  Despite pronouncements to the contrary, hardcopy output systems are still the preferred solution to ensure effective and consistent communications within and between organizations.

Despite the undeniable (and welcome) developments in electronic document management systems, there will still be ongoing business opportunities for the hardcopy industry.

Printing and the Elections (1) - Document Security

November 6, 2006

Analysis of:GOP sees rival's strategy | www.jsonline.com

Although this is a story about election issues and partisan rivalries, it is a good example of politics imitating life.  Document security is a hot issue for everybody in a variety of business and other fields.

Amazingly, the technology to prevent or at least control such occurrences is already available.  The key (for both users and vendors) is to recognize the opportunity and to implement a solution.

Which is where the printer/MFP companies want to be anyhow, namely in the world of customer solutions.  Those that quickly exploit the opportunities, even those as simple as this case, will be able to reshape their sales approach and business model and profit as a result.

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