Case Summary: Hewlett Packard
William Hewlett and David Packard founded Hewlett-Packard in 1945. In the early stages, HP has been technologically more advanced than its competitors or the market leader. HP’s earliest product was audio oscillator and technology has been HP’s major focus, which can be seen from its various products. Shortly, the company began to manufacture a broad range of products for electronic industry as well as agriculture sector. The flexible HP 3000 computers made strong sales but none of the several models introduced by HP was able to make a major impact in the market. For example, HP 150 was a failure due three main reasons: -
• The disk drive was comparatively smaller to IBM.
• It was not compatible with IBM-PC.
• Retailers did not find it profitable to sell the product.
The first hand-held calculator, called electronic slide rule was introduced and sold well despite of its price and negative advice of consultants. In 1984, HP came up with several compact computers and printers. The computer called Portable and printers named Laserjet and Thinkjet were targeted for mass market, which HP had previously unrestrained. There was difference between margins that HP was offering to that of other vendors. To overcome these inadequacies, HP built its new Portable model, which was compatible with IBM PC, and bundling it with in-built software and hardware. This improved dealer relations, and helped HP to increase its overall sales. Computers and peripherals turned out to be the major contributor towards the sales and profits of HP. HP concentrated on creating a brand family and gaining greater consumer acceptance, and thus started giving names rather than numbers to its new products like Portable, Laserjet and Thinkjet are readily recognized among computer buyers. HP is intentionally focusing on technology to facilitate low-cost mass production in order to gain market share and to become a market
• The disk drive was comparatively smaller to IBM.
• It was not compatible with IBM-PC.
• Retailers did not find it profitable to sell the product.
The first hand-held calculator, called electronic slide rule was introduced and sold well despite of its price and negative advice of consultants. In 1984, HP came up with several compact computers and printers. The computer called Portable and printers named Laserjet and Thinkjet were targeted for mass market, which HP had previously unrestrained. There was difference between margins that HP was offering to that of other vendors. To overcome these inadequacies, HP built its new Portable model, which was compatible with IBM PC, and bundling it with in-built software and hardware. This improved dealer relations, and helped HP to increase its overall sales. Computers and peripherals turned out to be the major contributor towards the sales and profits of HP. HP concentrated on creating a brand family and gaining greater consumer acceptance, and thus started giving names rather than numbers to its new products like Portable, Laserjet and Thinkjet are readily recognized among computer buyers. HP is intentionally focusing on technology to facilitate low-cost mass production in order to gain market share and to become a market