RIM CEO: 'There's Nothing Wrong With the Company'

redletterdave writes "Research In Motion is in trouble. The BlackBerry maker has been suffering from an identity crisis for the last six months, which has resulted in mass layoffs, lots of job shuffling, dramatic drop-offs in market share and a quickly decaying portfolio for investors. But not according to Thorsten Heins! The newly-appointed CEO published an op-ed in the Toronto Globe and Mail on Tuesday, and also appeared on a radio program the same morning, to deliver one message: 'There's nothing wrong with the company as it exists right now.'"

Comments

Denial

[sjbe]

Why am I reminded of the Iraqi Propaganda Minister?

Re:Denial

[Anonymous Coward]

Because you believe the media's portrayal of RIM -- a company with no debt, $2 billion in assets, positive cash flow, extensive global market share in enterprise and military markets, and a newly reshuffled leadership and pared-down workforce -- as hopelessly crippled merely because they're losing market share in the US consumer market, an area where they have never been a stellar performer.

People said the same thing about Apple not that long ago, and that demise seemed at least as imminent, if not more.

That said, RIM has done a spectacularly bad job of marketing itself, which only fuels the fires of the doom-sayers. And the decision to delay the release of their new phones until after the gloriously profitable Christmas season because they want to make sure that the new OS integrates seamlessly with embedded systems in cars which don't yet exist has to be one of the stupidest strategic moves in modern business history, right up there with New Coke.

But RIM's self-defeating strategic, tactical, and marketing debacles aside, the reports of its death really are quite exaggerated.

Re:Denial

[blind monkey 3]

Huur! Durrr! RIM is teh dead! Everything they've ever done sucked, lol!

Sensationalist Headline

[kae77]

I'm not sure why we're seeing all of this. But if you RTFA, you'll see a totally different message. Heins gets that they are in a lot of trouble. He's simply saying that they aren't going anywhere. They are executing their strategy in the midst of a transition. All of the negativity is expected. But they haven't lost their head, they know where they're going. The headline should read: "RIM CEO Acknowledges past, hopeful for future" Nice to see a CEO be candid about their problems.

Re:Well considering

[narcc]

Have you used one? There is no comparison.

After using a PB for any length of time, trying to use any Android or iOS device is like stepping back in time.

Apple uses know that "it's all about the experience". Well, RIM has that nailed as far as tablets are concerned, and all signs point to a revolutionary UI on the new BB10 handsets.