KeepItPrinting.com

[KIPDOCTOR]

Well, it has finally come to this at the Circle K Ranch.

Some very good people have paid the price for management's over spending on flashy new buildings and big screen monitors to play Guitar Hero on.

At least four that we are aware of have gotten the ax. It is indeed a sad day. The great one has indeed started to sway from it's perch at the top.
I saw it coming. Others did too. Time for a restructuring from the top down.

The Doc is available as a management consultant. I am sure I can whip that company back to greatness. It is not all the economy. Arogance is not an endearing quality for any company.
Some companies are doing quite well in this recession.

I hope they get thier act together. They do make the best product out there for sure.
We shall see.
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What we have gained in technology, we have lost in humanity.

[ditch]

With a 2009 results of 530 mln Yen loss and a 2010 forecast of 820 mln Yen loss are you surprised

Sales forecast in 2010 is only 7.8 billion yen from a result of 13 billion yen in 2008 and 9.8 billion yen in 2009

These figures are from KIP press releases

[KIPDOCTOR]

Yikes, I didn't know it was that bad.
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What we have gained in technology, we have lost in humanity.

[Dr.Bill]

6 got the ax...this time around.

[phan6622]

I agree.. Arrogance... These executives fell into a position of power with a company that had a small name but the best product... Im not saying a six year old could have got them where they are today, but these guys think they're gods gift to management.. especially number 1.. all things change eventually and I hope change comes through management.

[MasterBlaster]

ditch wrote:

With a 2009 results of 530 mln Yen loss and a 2010 forecast of 820 mln Yen loss are you surprised Sales forecast in 2010 is only 7.8 billion yen from a result of 13 billion yen in 2008 and 9.8 billion yen in 2009 These figures are from KIP press releases

Those numbers sound high because there is over 100 yen to a dollar. So they are saying they are expecting to lose about 5 million dollars in '09 and 8 million dollars in '10. Kip Japan probably pays about that much in rent on their headquarters. Compared to their sales this is a very small loss and could be explained because of taking deductions, increased development or making major purchases. I guarantee they are doing MUCH better than any other large format printing company.

[MasterBlaster]

KIPDOCTOR wrote:

The Doc is available as a management consultant. I am sure I can whip that company back to greatness. It is not all the economy. Arogance is not an endearing quality for any company. Some companies are doing quite well in this recession.

What large format printer company is doing well in this economy? Or better yet what manufacturer is doing well in this economy? BMW, Mercedes, Honda, Sony, Toyota are some of the best run companies in the world and they are all losing money.

Percentage wise all of the above mentioned companies loses are much worse than KTA.

Of course some companies are doing well, in a recession there are always going to be companies that expand in a recession. Fast food is thriving, Hormel is working 24 hours a day to make Spam.

Be happy you are in a service industry, they normally do quite well in a recession because more people want to get their existing equipment running instead of buying new. Used car dealers are also doing very well especially if they are financing themselves.

[AJG]

There have been more layoffs than most probably know.

[ditch]

MasterBlaster wrote:

I guarantee they are doing MUCH better than any other large format printing company.

A revenue drop of 40% in two years - I doubt it, in comparison to the others in 1998
Oce had a Wide Format revenue of 850 million Euros which is 110 billion yen, nearly 10 time the revenue of KIP
Xerox had a Wide Format revenue of not enough to include as a item in their annual report

No doubt KIP's are good but any machine is only as good as the person that keeps it running

[MasterBlaster]

ditch wrote:

MasterBlaster wrote: I guarantee they are doing MUCH better than any other large format printing company. A revenue drop of 40% in two years - I doubt it, in comparison to the others in 1998 Oce had a Wide Format revenue of 850 million Euros which is 110 billion yen, nearly 10 time the revenue of KIP Xerox had a Wide Format revenue of not enough to include as a item in their annual report No doubt KIP's are good but any machine is only as good as the person that keeps it running

It is funny Oce's stock dropped over 25% today! GM's revenue is much higher than Oce's, do you think they are doing well? Revenue without profit isn't doing anyone any good. I will bet that Oce has laid off more than 10 times as many employees as Kip.

I do agree that Kip printers are only as good as the people who keep them running. I am not sure what this has to do with my original post though.

[KIPDOCTOR]

I guess what scares and surprises me the most about all of this is that KIP has always been a very lean company when it came to numbers of employees for the given work load.

Oh, how I remember the 12 and 14 hours days that all of us put in whenever I got the call to fly out to Michigan. Many many trips. I think I stayed in every room at the Windham at least once. Hell, one of my kids was concieved there when I was being courted to move to Michigan.

Anyway,Oce and Xerox always had way more employees than KIP. So if you have less employees and are already running lean, what happens to support for a product when you have to let some go?

The KIP product has always been the best and the software always was on the leading edge of technology and was and is top notch.

My beef was always with management and the attitude of said management. There are limits to how much walking all over people that anyone can take. That said, I do have to give credit to the man at the helm. He taught me a lot about business and for that you do and I do, have to respect him. I hope that in some strange way he looks down upon me and what I have accomplished and is just a little bit proud even if I have been a thorn in his side for the past six years. I learned a lot from the man and he is just a little bit responsible for the monster I have become.

Anyway enough of that. Back on topic. A little change in attitude and a little humble pie is good for everyone. KIP, you need every customer now, not just the super big dealers. I hope the support side of things does not get any worse. It really can't afford to.
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What we have gained in technology, we have lost in humanity.

[AJG]

KIP better man the pumps...cuz the ships going down.

[REPRODOGGIE]

I would be more worried if there were NOT layoffs. Every company has reduced revenue from the insanity of 2003-2007. The ones who adapt (i.e. layoffs) will be the ones who survive.

The industry and economy in general will never see those heights again, so I would quit waiting and adapt to the new reality. Everyone had best get used to it.

I will not speak to the arrogance or humility of any individual person or company; let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

I will however, chastise them for their failurte to develop any type of coherent marketing programs. Simply adding dealers is not the answer, ask GM and Chrysler.

I would be more upset if KIP had done nothing and not reduced overhead. I was sorry to see people we know be laid off, but perhaps the next time things are good, we all won't get quite so carried away.

Buildings, exotic new products built not for profit, but just because you can; hubris in general; these are the precursors of failure.

Time for everyone to Relax, Repent, Readjust, and move forward in this new economic reality.