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=The selling of TI=
Marketing in times of change
Retailers are the primary link
between computer users, manufacturers
and programmers.
We talked to retailers in different
parts of the country who sell products
for the Texas Instruments 99/4A computer.
Here are their thoughts on selling
the TI.
REACTIONS TO PULLOUT
Selling products for a computer
which is no longer manufactured is, of
course, quite a special problem.
When TI initially pulled out of the
market, Steve Ficklin, general manager
of Computer Shows in Austin,
Texas, says, "It was probably not that
much of a surprise, based on their
marketing. I didn't know how long
they could stay in there losing money.
It probably was a little bit of a relief
that we knew what was happening."
Ficklin says he is "surprised that
more people have not made software
avilable-that TI hasn't made more
popular software available. such as
the TI-Writer. A lot of Tls are being
unused because the software and
hardware are not available."
Don Mccutcheon, owner of the
Home Computer Center in St. Petersburg,
Florida, says his reaction was
"utter astonishment."
He adds, "We were ex pecting it.
Being a dealer I knew what was going
on. But I still was astonished because
they have one of the best computers in
the market in the price range and they
couldn't make a go of it due to poor
management.
"I hate to see it go because it's such a
good little computer. But it (the pullout)
helped my business tremendously. ''
Mary Jane Burger, an owner of
RAM Enterprises (in this case, RAM
stands for Richard And Mary) · in
Vermilion, Ohio, says that initially
"we definitely felt concerned, but we
took a wait-and-see attitude and were
hopeful someone would pick up and
continue the TI or at least the accessories
and so forth."
Now, she says, "I know that we're
definitely encouraged.''
She says that "Cor-Comp and others
are coming out with peripherals. This
is a very hopeful sign. We felt a
responsiblity to our own customers
and a concern that we couldn't get
software. That seems a little better
now.''
Craig Reitan, president of Unisource
Electronics, headquartered in
Lubbock, Texas, says,' 'We d mixed
reactions. Almost all our business is
TI. We have several phases: a couple
of stores and mail order."
He says that "after the intial panic"
they realized that two million TI computers
were out there. "It's an opportunity
for a mail-order business like
us."
He says Unisource is in the process
of doing "a brand-new catalog with the
things available, things being phased
out and things available in the future.''
Unisource markets more than 1,000
products for the TI, he notes.
The pullout means that "we have to
work harder," he notes.
"We're having third-party authors
work on software alternatives," he
says. ''Important pieces of software
we'll manufacture ourselves, if we
have to, although that's a business
we'd rather not be in."
Noting that TI stopped shipping
software at the end of March, Reitan
notes, Unisource purchased "about $1
million worth of software." (Interviews
for this article were conducted
in mid-March.)
Of this, "some titles will be gone in
45 days and some will last a year and a
half," he predicts tentatively.
Susan Smith, owner of Tree of
Knowledge in Reading, Pennsylvania,
says her reaction was "just terror. It
was awful. I figured that was the end.
I'd never sell another TI computer.''
Now, she says, "I think they knew
what there were doing. I didn't give
them enough credit. They did it at the
right time. I had the best Christmas
market ever and I'm getting the
aftermarket now with the software
and the peripherals."
Bob DeMars of Specialist In in Minnetonka,
Minnesota, says he was
"very surprised that they pulled out.
"It doesn't bother us," he adds.
"Business is good. It's never been
better."
THIRD PARTIES
"I think a lot of third parties are
creating software," DeMars says.
"We're creating software."
He describes a program for learning
BASIC they have that is "interactivenot
just turning the pages of a
manual."
With this program, the user is given
a problem and two chances to respond.
If he gives the wrong response twice in
a row, the program tells him the
answer and takes him back to the
material the problem covers for a
review. Then he is given a similar
problem on the same material.
Specialist In is also providing
classes in BASIC, Extended BASIC,
assembly language, Microsoft Multiplan,
TI-Writer, Forth and printers.
Printers are "very difficult" with
commands for such items as boldfacing,
for instance, DeMars says. He
says Specialist In markets 50 different
models of printers and has had a program
written for each.
He says they evaluate the software
they sell "to be sure it is quality
software."
Specialist In sells to customers all
over the world, he says.
"We don't advertise a lot," he says.
"People find out by word of mouth."
Ficklin says he hasn't seen much
third-party software so far.
"I hear a lot but haven't seen much
so far," he says. "Frisco (Frisco Electronics,
a high-volume electronics
chain) has Atarisoft. That's games.
Games get old real fast."
He notes that Computer Shows is a
dealer for Scott Foresman, which has
discontinued its TI line.
"Initially, I though a lot of people
would write stuff," he says. '' I'm
beginning to have my doubts now,
which is too bad."
"As far as what's available for
peopple who already have Tl's, there's
a lot of new stuff coming out," Mccutcheon
says. "The limit on computers is
going to limit what's available,
because there's no new computers
coming out."
He notes that "TI tried their best to
restrict stuff'' so that they would be
the software source.
"We're finding a lot of new stuff out
there.·· he says.
"We've always had problems getting
what people want at the time,"
Burger says. "It's still a problem."
She notes that it is harder to obtain
peripherals than software.
"It always seemed Texas Instruments
put out a carrot a long time
before it was ready and that's what
we're facing now, too," she says.
'Tm not sure what they're going to
do with their chips and their modu1e,"
she says. "The best quality software
has always been in the module."
In regard to third-party manufacturers,
she says, '·they' re more
encouraged. There's more benefit for
them to be in the market."
Reitan says, "We're starting to get
things that have been needed for a long
time, but weren't made because people
expected TI to manufacture
them.''
He notes, "There are obviously
those who got disenchanted and
dropped out, but there are those who
are building up their system. Business
is better than it's ever been."
He notes that Unisource "couldn't
support" the initial period of "panic
buying" because of a lack of enough
WATS lines.
Smith says, 'Tm hoping TI will
encourage third parties to do even
more than they did before. One of the
problems with TI was they wouldn't let
anybody else make software."
Smith says she specializes in TI
products.
"Some people, as soon as they sell
out what they have for TI, are pulling
out," she says. 'Tm getting more and
more third-party business. We're the
center for TI in Reading, and even the
big department stores are sending
customers to me.''
MARKETING CHANGES?
''I never had a whole lot of money to
advertise in the first place," Smith
says. ' 'Had I been in the thick of advertising
I probably would have made
some changes."
"We rent a lot of their software
now,'' Ficklin says of his TI inventory.
"We kept enough in stock so we could
rent it. We're selling some that we
have enough of."
He notes that if Car-Comp comes out
with its planned Phoenix. Computer
Shows will sell software, but if not,
"we'll stay with rented."
"I advertise less locally and do more
advertising through my list of
names," Mccutcheon says. "I have a
good-sized list of names of people who
own a TI. Every time a new product
comes out, I want to deal with people
who already have co,nputers."
"At this point we haven't changed it
too much," Burger says of her
bu?iness.
','We're waiting to see what happens
with Car-Comp and the Phoenix. The
TI market is still strong. We probably
will diversify," she says.
"I don't know that we've changed
our marketing as much as we've
beefed up our warehousing and
investment in inventory," Reitan
says. "Our catalog has to be republished
more frequently because the
market is changing more."
He says Unisource now plans to
issue a hardbound catalog every quarter
at a cost of about $75,000.
FUTURE PROSPECTS
·'We're all hopeful for the Phoenix,''
Reitan comments. "We are Car-Comp
distributors and looking forward to
that product as well as our other
products."
He also refers to "rumors that surrogate
Tl's" we be manufactured.
"We'll serve the TI market as long
as there is a TI market, whether that's
two years or 20 years," he says. "Until
the last customer rings our bell and
says 'We don't want to buy anything,'
we'll be here."
'Tm going to hang in as long as people
want to buy things," echoes Smith.
"When it dwindles down, I'll stop carrying
TI."
DeMars predicts. "I expect that the
TI will be back on the market under a
new name-that somebody else will
make it."
Ficklin says simply, '·1 don't know
right now.··
He says that Computer Shows,
whose "main thrust is educational"
has expanded into some other lines of
computers.
"I expect some of the titles people
are looking for are going to disappear,"
Mccutcheon says of future
software sales. "There'll be some
third-party replacements but not
exactly the same. We'll lose some that
are popular but not popular enough for
a third party to pick up the rights to.''
"I definitely feel there is a future for
home computers and it is a strong
future." Burger says, "and though I'm
not sure which direction we want to
take I'm sure there will be a successful
future out there."
THE Tl MARKET
"As long as we have good products,
good prices and good availability,
we 'II get our our reward, which is
orders," Reitc..1n says.
He notes that Unisource has diversified
in its retail stores, but not in its
mail-order business.
"It is an awfully difficult business,"
he says. "There is not a good product
in the home market compared to TI.
We do carry Commodore and we do
carry software for other computers."
"Saturday I could hardly have time
to breathe, there were so many in
here," Smith says. "I have a very
-small store. Tl's paying my rent. A lot
of people are coming in asking for disk
drives. Them I'm having trouble getting.
A lot of my distributors are pulling
out.''
She notes, "It costs a lot of money to
diversify. I tell people I can get them
Commodore stuff if they want it. I can
get them Atari stuff if they want it. But
I'm not stocking it. Eventually, I'll
have to."
DeMars says that Specialist In is
"constantly getting new customers."
They are diversifying, "but we'd
planned to do that anyway."
He adds, "TI is our favorite company.
You can't find a better compar:iy
to deal with."
Mccutcheon says thc..1t · ·one thing
thc1t's c1 little rough right now" is thc1t
items from third parties are · ·not
completely on the mc1rket" c..1nd the
expansion market hc..1s slowed down.
"As fast as I can get softwc1re in, I
sell it," he says, noting that he has got
in "about 25 new titles in the last 60
days from TI" through wholesalers.
YOU ARE WHAT YOU COMPUTE
''Most of the people we get calls on
for Atari want games," Mccutcheon
comments. "The same for the Commodore.
Most of the calls for the TI are
for education and small business.
There's still a difference in the way the
market reacts."
He says it's hard to say whether TI
owners spend more or less on their
computers than owners of other
brands.
"If we had the peripheral equipment
I'd say more,'' he says. '' A lot of people
are not even thinking of switching
over."
''From our experience, our research
shows that the average buyer will
spend 20 percent more on software and
peripherals than on the computer,"
says Reitan.
However, the TI user spends a
higher percentage on these items
because of the low base price of the
computer.
In Lul;)bock-the site of a Texas
Instruments plant-' '95 percent of our
customers are fierce and loyal to the
TI," he says.
He notes that with the TI "adding 100
percent of the peripherals it's still a
heck of c1 value" compared, for example,
to the IBM PC-Junior.
Smith thinks thc..1t TI users spend as
much on their systems as users of
other computers "in the long. run.
Maybe they're not as fast to do it.··
She speculates that TI may have got
out because of not having the
"patience to wait for the aftermarket."
She notes that Tree of Knowledge is
located in the center of the downtown
business district.
"We're not seeing the people who go
out to K-Mart," she says.
DeMars says customers are "all in
about the same market. Some customers
buy the computer because it's
inexpensive and don't plan to expand.
Others spend $1,000. They still get a
good deal. Some expand very slowly."
He notes that "the typical Atari consumer
is out for a game machine. The
Commodore is more difficult to use for
a beginner than a TI. Most people are
impressed with the quality of software,
educational and home stuff, for
the TI. We sell it to a lot of business
people, too."
"The majority of the TI market are
probably computer illiterates now,"
Ficklin says. "Six months again that
wasn't the case. The recent buyers
after the price cuts expected to get a
fully functional computer without having
to program it or buy anything for
data storage when they plugged it in
after Christmas. This isn't anyone's
fault, just the general state of knowledge
about computers. Now probably
most of them are in the closet.''
HOW LONG TI?
The length for viability of the TI
market, Ficklin says, "depends on
what happens in the next two months.
If Cor-Comp comes out with their stuff
and if someone comPS out with some
viable software, it's 1 ½ to 2 years. If
not-you're probably looking at it now.
As far as most people are concerned,
TI is a dead subject. Which is really too
bad, because the computer is such a
good machine."
"People who've got them won't sell
them," Mccutcheon notes. He feels
that the viability of the TI market
depends on "if someone comes out
with a comparable computer-not a
Commodore or Atari."
"Two years, maybe," speculates
Burger. ''I think a lot depends on other
companies. Most of the people who
own Tls are really pleased with the
computer and the features. If a computer
such as the Phoenix came out
that was compatible there is a market
which is loyal and would upgrade. For
the TI99/4A itself, I don't know."
"I don't know how to call that one,"
says Reitan. "Opinions range from six
months on out.''
He says it may be another several
years "assuming a namesake never
comes out.'·
He continues, ''I think we know
enough to invest a lot. Past the near
term, which I look at as a year, I don't
know.''
"I know there are a lot of machines
out there," Smith says. "At least
another year. maybe more."
"If it comes back with another supplier,
a long time," DeMars says. "If
somebody doesn't take it over, I think
another five to seven years."
RETAILERS' PROBLEMS
Ficklin sees his biggest problem as a
retailer as answering his customers'
questions. Though he knows that the
TI is a good computer, he says, he
doesn't know whether any individual
should buy a computer or not, or
whether they should get more software
or hardware.
Mccutcheon says the biggest problem
is that "suddenly there'll be a rush
on something. Extended BASICyou'll
get 10 in a day and they'll be
gone. Peripherals-people want entire
expansion systems and you can't get
them."
He also cites frustration with not
knowing what prices will be.
Reitan says the biggest problems
"continue to be TI. They are difficult
to do business with, though their withdrawal
from the market has been
honorable to dealers-amazingly so in
that they haven't dumped a huge
quantity of software on the market at
nothing, leaving dealers with huge
inventories of worthless software."
Reitan also cited the difficulties of
predicting what customers' needs will
be and thereby running short of
inventory.
Smith said that '·trying to get the
product" is a difficulty. She cited TIWriter.
Editor/ Assembler, Pascal,
Extended BASIC and Terminal Emulator
II as being hard to find.
CHAIN STORE COMPETITION
De Mars says the biggest problem is
"probably competing with the chain
stores" who buy software in large
volumes and sell it as loss leaders.
However, since large stores _such as
Montgomery Ward and J.C. Penney
have been phasing out TI products, the
smaller operators have benefited.
''In today's market much of our business
comes from the big stores sending
people to us," he says, citing Sears,
Penney's, Target and Dayton's (a
large chain in the Midwest). 'Tm glad
from that aspect. Our business has
quadrupled."
Smith also says she was unable to
compete with the chains.
"They were selling stuff below cost
just to clear it out. I couldn't compete
with that," she says.
Ficklin says that "small retailers
couldn't get them (TI consoles) when
they phased out.''
Reitan is philosophical at the
"dumping" of some TI products.
"Those things last a day or two. We
urge our customers to take advantage
of it, and we're not too proud to do it
ourselves," he says.
He notes that a customer who saves
money on a particular product by buying
it at a department store may buy
other products·from Unisource, which
has a larger selection of TI products
than the chains.
'''— LB'''
