HP Rethinking Wisdom of Spinning Off PC Division

bdking writes "After signing off on former CEO Leo Apotheker's proposal to spin off or sell HP's personal computer unit, the company's braintrust is reassessing the wisdom of dumping a division that contributes nearly 30% of revenue and holds together a valuable supply chain." HP appears concerned not so much for the revenue generated by PC hardware, but instead by access to various distribution and supply channels. It seems that just announcing a spin-off has affected their access to retail distributors.

Comments

My thoughts

[jesseck]

I won't purchase an HP device (didn't before, either) and don't recommend them to friends and family (didn't then, either). This is just reinforcement of my beliefs. Who wants to own a device, that the manufacturer doesn't want themselves?

Re:My thoughts

[Crudely_Indecent]

I always had a rule when purchasing PCs. Now, this rule has since lost much of it's impact, since one of the manufacturers went poof, and the other two merged -

Never buy a computer with PACK/PAQ in the name. At the time, this included Hewlett Packard, Compaq, and Packard Bell

Although losing much of it's impact, the rule still stands (at least for me)

Re:My thoughts

[vlm]

their low-end printers are just as shitty as Lexmark's or Canon's

Somewhere in China there's a factory that makes the internals for ALL cheap printers and depending on incoming orders puts them in a slightly different case and slaps a different sticker on the box. Ditto the laptops, clothes, etc.

Its like being astounded that the quality of the clothes at walmart, target, and kohls are all about the same, when they all came outta the same political prisoner staffed sweatshop and arrived onshore inside the same shipping container. Its not like the more expensive store sprinkles their clothes with "cool dust" or something. At the bottom, its all just junk.

Since the support for all of them is going to be a call center in India where a dude tells you to reinstall XP even if you tell him you have a mac, you may as well just buy the cheapest one.

This does not explain why Brother's printers just absolutely rock. Work on linux outta the box, scanner/fax function works outta the box, supports ipv6 for something like a decade. Rare to have a mechanical problem, rarely jams. "Just works" kinda like HP stuff used to B.C. (Before Carly)

There is a swamp at the bottom of the barrel where it all sucks, but a step up from that and there's some good products out there.

Fire the board

[onyxruby]

Fire the board, they showed their stripes years ago with Carly, and again with other bungled decisions. They have got to be the most incompetent board for any company of their size in the world. The board lost the HP way long ago, and it hasn't changed that much since then.

The whole rotting thing has got to go and the culture has to restored from the top. Nothing less will do.

Re:Fire the board

[Jeng]

I was going to suggest that they fire the CEO and get someone who will do the job for less compensation and no golden parachute. I figure if they do that then their applicant pool would open up to up and comers who want to prove themselves while hopefully turning away those who just want a big payday.

But your idea of firing the board probably makes more sense.

Re:Fire the board

[laffer1]

I recommend looking at who's currently on the board at HP. It explains everything. There's a ridiculous number of hedge fund managers and similar type people. They've only got one real HP person on the board and that person is from enterprise marketing or something like that. No one on the board understands their products or what they do except possibly this marketing person.

You would think a company like HP would have at least a few people who've run tech companies on their board.

Re:Fire the board

[i.am.delf]

The real HP was spun off by Carly into Agilent. As far as I know they are still doing just fine doing all those things that the original HP used to do.

Re:Fire the board

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

They really ought to experiment with outsourcing the board of directors to a call center somewhere.

It would't necessarily generate better leadership; but 8-12 incomprehensible guys allegedly named "Robert" somewhere in the far east would provide incomprehensible decisions and inconsistent directions for several factors of ten less money...

MBA bullshit.

[unity100]

Thats what happens when mbas take over running of corporations. Everything is geared towards teaching of maximizing profit minimizing costs in those programs in ultimate end, and even if some programs incorporate engineering concepts like systems management and so on, the mba types eventually lack on strategic planning and vision.

flop. thats what you get if you hire too much suits or put them in charge.

Re:MBA bullshit.

[sbrown123]

It has little to do with having an MBA. These boards are usually staffed with people assigned by majority holders for their ability to "maximize profits". But companies can only grow so much and the economy goes up and down. Investors don't want waves, only inclines. To keep their well paid jobs these MBA's, as you call them, do whatever they can. This usually means some imaginative book keeping, slashing staff, and trying to outsource where possible. The really good MBA's only stick around for a short period since their work always have a quick fall to follow. And who wants to be on a sinking ship?

Derp derp derp!

[Anonymous Coward]

When HP absorbed EDS they thought they'd finally be able to compete in the lucrative snake oil business of large scale "consulting" (a la IBM), but after a massive reorg and an almost precision extraction of any talent prevalent in the EDS husk they're left with nothing but the most clueless of drabs.

To watch them flail around and try to bail out of this self-inflicted situation by dumping their hardware division has been entertaining.

Oki and Xerox seem to be a better bet

[zerofoo]

I'm sure everyone has their opinion, but after throwing away a bunch of $2000 HP printers in the last year, we've had enough.

I started buying Xerox and Oki printers and so far, they have been fantastic. The Okis in particular seem to be built well enough to take a bullet, and the toner cartridges are huge compared to an equivalent HP printer, yet they are priced about the same.

I think we are done with HP forever at this point.

Email from HP about this

[silverglade00]

I just got an email from HP about this. HP's Personal Systems Group is the #1 PC maker on the planet, and that won't change. I can assure you our future is brighter than ever. Spirit of a Startup Our preferred course to harness our vision of the future is to build a separate, more agile company. It's time to think like a startup again. It's time to be nimble and revolutionary. It's time again for world-changing innovation. And so, it's time we realized we're at a crossroads in an evolving HP. But don't misunderstand: We-the same great folks who make HP PCs today-will make them tomorrow. We will continue to build on our legacy creating reliable, stylish, and high-performance PCs to improve your personal and professional life.

Re:Dumbasses!

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

Don't be so dismissive of MBAs... If you stop falling for the illusion that their 'business' is running businesses efficiently, and start viewing them as amoral rational actors feathering their nests at the expense of anybody whose pockets they can reach, you'll see that they are extraordinarily effective a locating targets, infesting them, sucking them dry, and then moving on, somehow not dragged down by their record of failure and occasional malfeasance...

Never make the mistake of underestimating a superb parasite because it is lousy at whatever non-noxious lifeform it is mimicking...

Re:BGDAAAA!!

[TheRaven64]

It doesn't matter. Judging by the trends in HP CEOs, Darl will only last 2 months. He will be replaced by Kim Jong Il, who will last a mere 3 weeks (and leave with a $100m golden parachute). The next CEO will be fired before she arrives in the building, and the one after her will be given her golden parachute before being offered the job. After that, things are going to get really bad...