RIM is NOT planning to exit the consumer market
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In the Q&A part of the conference call, Thorsten Heins specifically addressed the (mis)interpretation of his prepared remarks that RIM would be pulling back from the consumer market. A transcript is online now:
| Research In Motion Limited's CEO Discusses Q4 2012 Results - Earnings Call Transcript - Seeking Alpha
Jeffrey T. Kvaal - Barclays Capital, Research Division
Thorsten, I think conventional wisdom in much of the industry at the moment is that the BYOD principle is driven by the demand by consumers to bring their own enterprise into -- or device into the enterprise. That seems to be driven by availability of applications and what have you. It seems, if I'm understanding you correctly, that you're flipping this [on it's head], and you want to focus on the core enterprise businesses and you're going to pull back from the consumer band. Is that -- am I understanding that right? And if so, what does conventional wisdom have wrong about that approach?
Thorsten Gerhard Heins
... my clear objective is to use BlackBerry 10 to provide a very, very strong play in the bring-your-own-device toward the enterprise segment. Now how I constitute the consumer part of this device expression and the device identity, that's why I exactly talk about partnerships. I will provide the strength to BYOD that we can bring to the table by refocusing on what makes a BlackBerry a BlackBerry: workflow, productivity, efficiency, security, easy to work with. And on the consumer side, exactly to what I've said in -- against the first question is, we will partner. We will have to have those consumer table specs on a BlackBerry 10. There's no doubt about it. Do I have to do this myself? Probably not. So we're seeking strong partnerships that allow us to have the completely BYOD offering, but that doesn't mean we have to do it all ourselves.
I've corrected the transcript of the question (the text in brackets). I've listened to hs reply again, and Heins did indeed use the phrase "consumer table specs" at 42:01 into the conference call. I think he has in mind the image of what partners could bring to the table, along side the contributions of RIM that he enumerated.
Of course, if RIM does not find the partners it needs, its future in the US consumer market (and thus the BYOD enterprise segment) is indeed grim. As others have noted, Amazon would have been an ideal partner in the U.S. But RIM's worldwide presence is much wider than Amazon's. In any case, it may be too late for Amazon now.
There were other remarks about partnering, perhaps more oriented toward hardware. I've excerpted a couple of them:
Richard Kramer - Arete Research Services LLP
Thorsten, I just wanted to ask you, do you have a mass market strategy for BB10? And also given that the growth is coming much more outside the U.S., do you think in future, you'd be able to give us some more breakdown of how the international business is going, ...
Thorsten Gerhard Heins
That's market strategy. As I've said, Richard, this is part of the strategic review that I'm going through. I believe in the, what we call, this onboarding from feature phone to smartphones right now. This happens at a high rate in all of the major regions outside of the U.S., and I want to be aggressively pursuing this because that means I'm improving and I'm growing my install base that I need in order to then go into a BlackBerry 10. Going into the future, as I've said, Richard, I want to absolutely participate in this market. The question is what is the right business model for RIM to participate there? Is it our own hardware? Do we have to do everything ourselves? Do we license BlackBerry 10? And that is the business model you could think about. Do we partner? Do we ODM? That is currently under investigation ...
Kulbinder Garcha - Cr�dit Suisse AG, Research Division
... are you committed to making devices across a spectrum of the smartphone segment on a long-term basis as an entry-level, mid-end, high-end? Is that what you think RIM needs to do? And then next, just on the strategic side, have you at least ruled out, for example, to shut down the hardware business? ...
Thorsten Gerhard Heins
... Actually, the world is not in one stage regarding the deployment of mobile technology and mobile devices and communications. There is Asia-Pac, they still have the high need for communication where entry-level smartphones have a high onboarding rate and make a lot of sense to have in the portfolio. When we go through these strategic reviews, part of that assessment will be whether we, based on BlackBerry 10, will do this ourselves or whether we partner or whether we license. To your point, it's too early to say, but it is certainly part of the review. Where I want to drive RIM devices to, to be an aspirational high-end object of desire with the best functionality for communication purposes, and for people who just need to stay ahead of the game that need productivity and that need to achieve. Whether this means we, in the future, will build the hardware ourselves or whether we kind of engage in any other kind of partnership is exactly part of the -- in our strategic analysis and review that we're going through. And I will keep you updated once that is completed. Second question, shutting down the hardware business and just maintaining the knock in infrastructure. As I said in my call, I believe in RIM being an integrated value services and solution provider, and that encompasses the network to services and the devices. But the position I take was RIM to provide an integrated user experience across these 3 domains to the customers. But again, you could think about that either one of these 3 constituting factors or elements could also be done in a partnership. Again, we need to look at this. We will leave no stone unturned. We will be really open to assess all these situations, and we will make the best decision for RIM and for RIM's stakeholders. ...Last edited by VerryBestr; 03-30-12 at 03:23 AM.
03-30-12 03:17 AMLike 3 -
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the damage is already done though...
lawyers use this strategy all the time. they say something they know they are not allowed to and then when it gets objected and over ruled they 'my bad' it, but you can not unhear something... why do you think lawyers use it so often03-30-12 04:04 AMLike 0 -
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The first I heard of this was on the radio in the car on the way to work. The BBC newsreader said "RIM is going to leave the consumer market and concentrate on business".
RIM should put a news story across all media outlets - BBC, SKY, FOX etc etc etc - ASAP to clear up this rumor!!03-30-12 04:35 AMLike 0 -
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The media are ridiculous. I was listening to the radio here in Australia and when the news came on the said that the CEO of RIM, the maker of BlackBerry, had said that they are exiting the consumer market. They must have done their homework after they claimed this because I only heard it once.Last edited by eKafara; 03-30-12 at 05:18 AM.
03-30-12 04:49 AMLike 0 -
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The BBC in the UK are doing a very good job of fuelling this rumour. Number 1 watched video on their website today: BBC News - Blackberry-maker RIM going back to its roots
Glad to see someone clear it up....although whether THAT will get reported, i very much doubt it
***since originally posting, the Beeb have changed the name of their article from "Blackberry pulling out of consumer market" to "RIM going back to its roots'Last edited by oz_insatiable; 03-30-12 at 05:32 AM.
03-30-12 05:27 AMLike 0 -
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I know this will be an unpopular opinion, but I wish would RIM go back to their roots and focus more on business customers. I think that many of RIM's current problems are the result of them trying to be all things to all people, leading to new subscribers (whose emphasis isn't email/communication) feeling disappointed and as though RIM is 'behind' because the games aren't as good etc.
RIM isn't behind, they've always been ahead as far as I'm concerned - as Kevin's said many a time - BlackBerrys are the ultimate communication device, with BBM and email as the ultimate app - and if RIM went back to focusing on this clear advantage that they've always had (and still have), the 'right' people will buy them and love them.03-30-12 06:19 AMLike 0 -
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But they are not getting them out asap. They won't be out until at least September. And if they release without the major, name brand apps that iOS and Android have, no one except us here on ths forum will buy them. They don't need the Blackberry Video store or Music, or video chat app, they just need the apps from the companies that already do this stuff and that people have already invested in. They keep pushing things back for security and battery life, and the market has proven that people are,including their precious CIO's that they say they are getting requirements from, will sacrifice both. Sounds like Thor finally gets this, but its late, and hopefully not too late.03-30-12 06:32 AMLike 0 -
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Bold prediction, considering we haven't even seen an early Alpha build yet... Normally you'd already have a Beta out, if you're launching software that's supposed to be out later this year.
Too little too late, I'm afraid...03-30-12 06:47 AMLike 0 -
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I am glad to hear that RIM is not, as the BBC stated, giving up on consumer sales. If they were only to concentrate on corporate sales then this would, imo be a formula for disaster.
Why do I say this?
A modern smartphone is a very personal device and people have, as we oftne see right here on Crackberry, some very personal preferences and opinions about which one, they think, is the best.
If a phone you do not like is foisted upon you by your company then there is absolutely no chance that you will ever reccomend one to your family or friends. A phone there fore has to by sufficiently attractive to PULL people to it. If it is pushed then equally it will be pushed away by the user.
RIM really has to be fully commited to the consumer market to ensure that their phones are objects of desire to the public at large. In short, they HAVE to take on Apple and Android. They won't win all the forthecoming battles but if they do not compete then they will lose all of them and that could spell the end for RIM.03-30-12 06:48 AMLike 2 -
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Reality check here. I don't see any strong denials from RIM since this story broke, investors know what is going on when they start reporting things like these. It happens everytime, company floats bad news, official never deny it, a couple of months later they verify it leaving the loyal holding the hot potatoe.03-30-12 06:57 AMLike 0 -
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Where exactly did you see this? Clearly not on their website. Quote from their article updated this morning and tiltled "Blackberry maker to shift focus":
"We plan to refocus on the enterprise business and capitalise on our leading position in this segment," he said.
"We believe that Blackberry cannot succeed if we tried to be everybody's darling and all things to all people. Therefore, we plan to build on our strength."
I wish you were right, but I'm afraid RIM is adding another blunder to their long list. So far, I haven't been impressed at all with the new CEO. It started with his first comment about no radical change is needed, and now we have this retreat strategy in the midst of developing an outstanding OS if the Paybook's OS2 is any indication.03-30-12 07:51 AMLike 0 -
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I think the general public need to be educated on BES fusion and balance. And what the cost of free really is.
With RIM pay a small fee and have your privacy and stand up against the data miners with their free apps!
Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk03-30-12 08:07 AMLike 0 -
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That is a very good point. Despite assurances, you have to wondr whether RIM will miss that autumn 2012 deadline.
03-30-12 09:06 AMLike 0 -
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You have the right article BBC NEWS - Blackberry-maker RIM plans new focus amid $125m loss I read this first thing this (European) morning. Then the article said that RIM was no longer concentrating (not abandoning) on consumer product. Since then this article has, er, evolved. This was pointed out earlier in this thread by stick_slinger and then by oz_insatiable. It looks like the BBC reporter half read the RIM announcement and then made up the part about consumers. Since then they have changed the article at least once during the day. This annoys me intensely and the first senetce in my original post said "I am glad to hear that RIM is not, as the BBC stated, giving up on consumer sales." This coment was based on the previously mentioned earlier posts.Where exactly did you see this? Clearly not on their website. Quote from their article updated this morning and tiltled "Blackberry maker to shift focus":
"We plan to refocus on the enterprise business and capitalise on our leading position in this segment," he said.
"We believe that Blackberry cannot succeed if we tried to be everybody's darling and all things to all people. Therefore, we plan to build on our strength."
I wish you were right, but I'm afraid RIM is adding another blunder to their long list. So far, I haven't been impressed at all with the new CEO. It started with his first comment about no radical change is needed, and now we have this retreat strategy in the midst of developing an outstanding OS if the Paybook's OS2 is any indication.03-30-12 12:05 PMLike 0 -
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The quotes debunk nothing, unless you want to believe in RIM as a consumer provider. Taking a more clinical view of the statements and restatements, it certainly still sounds like he is saying they are pulling back; they will focus on core enterprise business; and they will look for (unnamed) partners to keep a foot in the consumer door. Two of those statements are definite and one is conditional. It has been nearly a full day and there have been no explicit statements from RIM disputing the press coverage (nor any of the specific elements that seem to upset people here). The comments that have come out have just been carefully worded business-speak intended to ensure investors do not jump ship but also ensure they don't get sued for making deliberately false statements to those investors. You can believe what you want but every major media outlet is reporting similar stories with similar themes and they are not all sourced to one AP person. The media companies are also not sitting around a table deciding what they can do to torment RIM today. It is RIM's own performance and its own statements that are creating the stories. BTW, when a CEO mentions the subject of selling the company and does not just state that they are not for sale, that usually means they are quite open to entertaining buyers.....03-30-12 12:54 PMLike 0 -
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They already have exited the consumer market by not delivering products that consumers want.
They have to quickly address the lack of content on their devices that other platforms have.. Basics such as cross platform video chat, kindle and video streaming services.
They HAVE To have the apps and functions that users want.. Otherwise the consumer will buy the phone which has these functions.
Ema03-30-12 01:10 PMLike 0 -
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RIM is NOT planning to exit the consumer market
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