MRC%PANDA@SUMEX-AIM.ARPA (Mark Crispin) (01/18/86)
From Friday, 17 January 1986's Times-Tribune:
New Atari Resignation
Departure of Montross linked to Tramiel's sales strategy
By Ken Siegmann, Times Tribune staff
For the third time in four months, another executive has
resigned from Atari Corp.
Albert Montross tendered his resignation as vice president
and general manager while Atari was unveiling its new computer at
the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last month.
Montross said he is leaving for personal reasons.
But a source close to the Sunnyvale-based personal computer
company said Montross was angered over Atari Chairman Jack
Tramiel's decision to sell computers through mass merchandise
outlets, such as K mart.
Atari executives count not be reached for comment.
Montross joined Atari in September, shortly after the
resignations of two other top executives.
James Copland, former marketing and sales vice president,
and Sig Schreyer, former operations manager of U.S. operations,
quit then.
Montross, a former computer retailer, said in November that
he was hired to sell Atari's 520 ST computer to computer
specialty stores.
But Tramiel's past dealings with computer dealers made it
difficult for Atari to establish credibility in that distriution
channel, industry observers have said.
While serving as chaisman of Commodore International Ltd.
Tramiel infuriated specialty dealers when he dropped the price of
the Commodore 64 and began selling it through mass merchandisers.
Dealers were stuck with a machine that cost them more than it was
selling for in toy stores.
After selling the 520 ST through computer speciality stores
since July, Tramiel announced at the CES show that he would move
it through mass merchandisers at a reduced price. Atari also
introduced a more sophisticated machine for specialty dealers.
The move met with mixed reactions from dealers.
Ralph Gilman, vice president of market researcher InfoCorp
in Cupertino, said that mass merchandisers have shown little
interest in Atari's computer, at any rate.
"The mass retailing people don't want to talk to Atari right
now," he said.
InfoCorp estimates that Atari sold only 850 units of the 520
ST in December. By comparision, Gilman said, Apple Computer
Inc., Atari's chief rival, sold 100,000 of its Apple II computers
last month.
-------csc@watmath.UUCP (Jan Gray) (01/21/86)
In article <12176152658.8.MRC@PANDA> MRC%PANDA@SUMEX-AIM.ARPA (Mark Crispin) writes: > InfoCorp estimates that Atari sold only 850 units of the 520 >ST in December. By comparision, Gilman said, Apple Computer >Inc., Atari's chief rival, sold 100,000 of its Apple II computers >last month. >------- This paragraph is most certainly untrue. Who is InfoCorp and where do they get such crummy estimates? Cheers, Jan Gray jan@looking Looking Glass Software (519) 884-7473
uh@unido.UUCP (01/22/86)
Right. I think even in Germany Atari has sold about 10.000 520ST's in
December. Our hometown dealer sold about 40 pieces and there are over
200 offical dealers in Germany.
Uwe Hoch
Computer Science Department, University of Dortmund
4600 Dortmund 50, P.O. Box 500500, W.-Germany
E-mail address: uh@unido.uucp, uh@unido.bitnet