Dell CEO Tells All

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Posted by timothy on Sunday July 18, 2004 @05:12PM from the formerly-of-black-flag dept.

zapatero writes "The San Francisco Chronicle has an enjoyable read with new Dell CEO Kevin Rollins. He has quite a critique of the HP acquisition of Compaq: 'They had a great, profitable printer business before. They still have a great, profitable printer business. ... Their profits are 70 to 80 percent from the printer business. So that's the area where the profit pool still lives. It's where it lived before. It's where it still is now. So I just ask, what's changed?'"

10 of 416 comments (clear)

Most expensive liquid on the planet? by Anonymous Coward · 2004-07-18 17:24 · Score: 3, Funny

I'm calling the guy out on his hyperbole. It would be corporate suicide to sell printer ink for the price of calf batter, er, bull jizz.
what a troll by FLoWCTRL · 2004-07-18 17:24 · Score: 2, Funny

The printer joke regarding HP got old when Dell was young.
SOMEbody's bitter! by SuperBanana · 2004-07-18 17:27 · Score: 5, Funny

"They still have a great, profitable printer business. ... Their profits are 70 to 80 percent from the printer business. So that's the area where the profit pool still lives. It's where it lived before. It's where it still is now. So I just ask, what's changed?"
Executranslator output:
"HP had a great printer business, and especially when we saw Queen Fiorina doing the merger dance, we thought, 'Hey. We're Dell, we rule, dude! We can make printers, kill cHomPaq's profit center, and then TAKE OVER THE WORLD!' But even after their sucky merger, they still make awesome printers, everyone still buys 'em, and we can't sell our printers. I hate her. Damn you, Carly! Oh, and our pothead spokesteen who got arrested for dealing pot, I hate him too."
It's even more fun if you picture him half-drunk at a bar, 10 o'clock shadow, disheveled suit- telling all this to another drunk guy at the bar.

--
Please help metamoderate.
Re:Hear hear by Aero+Leviathan · 2004-07-18 17:40 · Score: 2, Funny

Hi there,

Could you cite a source for that, please?

Thanks,

Your 5th grade teacher

--
~ Aero
Re:HP and Compaq - my take by eingram · 2004-07-18 18:02 · Score: 4, Funny

I find it amazing that HP can make money some days...

They sell lemonade on the side.
Re:He appears to be lying. by BitchKapoor · 2004-07-18 18:29 · Score: 5, Funny

Simple. He didn't say most of their employees are in the US, just the bulk of them. Their US employees are just a lot chubbier than those in China and India.
Re:What's changed by Anonymous Coward · 2004-07-18 19:21 · Score: 2, Funny

Is that HP now has a MUCH larger enterprise offering, a larger services staff, and a line of decent x86 servers.

But they just don't make those calculators like they used to.
Re:Hear hear by drsmithy · 2004-07-18 20:33 · Score: 3, Funny

If I buy a pair of Levi's (and for the punctuation hawks among us, yes, that is correct; it's not Levis), [...]
No, it's not - a pair of Levi's what ?
Re:Your math is bunk by duffbeer703 · 2004-07-19 00:45 · Score: 3, Funny

Well then, it's time for your shell corporation to pay it's fair share.

Corporate executives like yourself are getting rich on the backs of children!

--
Conformity is the jailer of freedom and enemy of growth. -JFK
Re:Do let's be consistent, shall we? by Anonymous Coward · 2004-07-19 01:36 · Score: 1, Funny

I mean seriously, would it be that hard to find an Indian MBA who could do the same job as Mr. Rollins for 1/10th the price?
More like 1/100th.