Peach1200
24-05-2006, 20:59
Vi linko un interessante articolo in cui si parla (purtroppo) dei problemi economici in cui versa iRiver in questo periodo... l'entrata di Apple nel mercato dei lettori flash-based, con lo Shuffle prima e il Nano poi, ha causato non pochi problemi ad iRiver, fino a quel momento uno dei principali player del mercato...
The IT industry is well aware that the short product life cycle and the rapid pace at which new technology comes up can drive them out of the market in the twinkling of an eye. MP3 player manufacturer Reigncom, which became famous with its iRiver hit product, just two years ago earned almost W1 trillion (US $1 billion) in annual sales but recorded its worst-ever performance this year, with only W37.9 billion in sales and W18.8 billion net losses in the first quarter.
Established in 1999, the firm had been making remarkable strides, becoming the runaway no. 1 in the domestic MP3 player market. The iRiver was more popular among teenagers than big competitors from Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics. It also gained the status of a top-notch player in overseas markets including the U.S., Japan and China in terms of sales volume. But Apple’s Flash-type MP3 players put an end to that.
Apple, which made only hard disk MP3 players until 2004, released its own Flash MP3 players iPod shuffle and iPod nano last year. They won plaudits with their good-looking designs and easy-to-use interface - and they were 30-40 percent cheaper than their Korean equivalents. Reigncom could not keep up, with the company suffering drops of more than 10 percent in sales for six quarters running. Now for a second consecutive quarter it also posted more than W10 billion in losses -- W38.9 billion in losses in the fourth quarter last year.
When Apple’s MP3 player sales quadrupled to some 32 million units in 2005 alone, Reigncom responded by slashing product prices three times. At the end of last year, however, just a year and a half since it started competing with Apple in the Flash MP3 player market, some 300 or about half of its staff quit the company. Its overseas operations ground to a halt as it pulled out of most markets except for the U.S. and one or two other countries.
Reigncom is refocusing on WiBro games consoles to win back some kudos. The game console, it says, will allow several users to enjoy the same game wirelessly. Company CEO Yang Deok-jun left Samsung Electronics as an executive in 1998 in hopes to “create and grow his own company” and in his late 40s established Reigncom. “I’ve been preparing for the WiBro game console for a long time,” Yang says. “Reigncom will be a leader in the new market.” It remains to be seen whether the console will allow the firm to repeat the miraculous success of the iRiver.
FONTE (http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200605/200605230009.html)
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Frutto di questo nuovo orientamento produttivo, è sicuramente l'annunciato G10 (LINK (http://www.aving.net/newproduct/default.asp?mode=read&c_code=01_01_25&c_num=17229&sp_except=aag&BT_ExRef1=1)), un PMP con avanzate funzioni gaming WiFi... in pratica l'oggetto del desiderio di ogni sud-coreano!! Nel loro mercato i PMP e i videogiochi spopolano ogni giorno di più...
http://image.aving.net/img/2006/05/22/0522_g10_4.jpg
http://image.aving.net/img/2006/05/22/0522_g10_5.jpg
Voi come vedete la cosa?
Io temo soprattutto per la situazione generale del mercato: se un'azienda come iRiver ha sofferto così tanto della concorrenza di Apple, penso che come lei tantissime altre aziende stiano affrontando tempi abbastanza bui...
The IT industry is well aware that the short product life cycle and the rapid pace at which new technology comes up can drive them out of the market in the twinkling of an eye. MP3 player manufacturer Reigncom, which became famous with its iRiver hit product, just two years ago earned almost W1 trillion (US $1 billion) in annual sales but recorded its worst-ever performance this year, with only W37.9 billion in sales and W18.8 billion net losses in the first quarter.
Established in 1999, the firm had been making remarkable strides, becoming the runaway no. 1 in the domestic MP3 player market. The iRiver was more popular among teenagers than big competitors from Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics. It also gained the status of a top-notch player in overseas markets including the U.S., Japan and China in terms of sales volume. But Apple’s Flash-type MP3 players put an end to that.
Apple, which made only hard disk MP3 players until 2004, released its own Flash MP3 players iPod shuffle and iPod nano last year. They won plaudits with their good-looking designs and easy-to-use interface - and they were 30-40 percent cheaper than their Korean equivalents. Reigncom could not keep up, with the company suffering drops of more than 10 percent in sales for six quarters running. Now for a second consecutive quarter it also posted more than W10 billion in losses -- W38.9 billion in losses in the fourth quarter last year.
When Apple’s MP3 player sales quadrupled to some 32 million units in 2005 alone, Reigncom responded by slashing product prices three times. At the end of last year, however, just a year and a half since it started competing with Apple in the Flash MP3 player market, some 300 or about half of its staff quit the company. Its overseas operations ground to a halt as it pulled out of most markets except for the U.S. and one or two other countries.
Reigncom is refocusing on WiBro games consoles to win back some kudos. The game console, it says, will allow several users to enjoy the same game wirelessly. Company CEO Yang Deok-jun left Samsung Electronics as an executive in 1998 in hopes to “create and grow his own company” and in his late 40s established Reigncom. “I’ve been preparing for the WiBro game console for a long time,” Yang says. “Reigncom will be a leader in the new market.” It remains to be seen whether the console will allow the firm to repeat the miraculous success of the iRiver.
FONTE (http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200605/200605230009.html)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Frutto di questo nuovo orientamento produttivo, è sicuramente l'annunciato G10 (LINK (http://www.aving.net/newproduct/default.asp?mode=read&c_code=01_01_25&c_num=17229&sp_except=aag&BT_ExRef1=1)), un PMP con avanzate funzioni gaming WiFi... in pratica l'oggetto del desiderio di ogni sud-coreano!! Nel loro mercato i PMP e i videogiochi spopolano ogni giorno di più...
http://image.aving.net/img/2006/05/22/0522_g10_4.jpg
http://image.aving.net/img/2006/05/22/0522_g10_5.jpg
Voi come vedete la cosa?
Io temo soprattutto per la situazione generale del mercato: se un'azienda come iRiver ha sofferto così tanto della concorrenza di Apple, penso che come lei tantissime altre aziende stiano affrontando tempi abbastanza bui...