HP said merging PC, printer groups to bolster sliding sales
updated 02:50 pm EDT, Tue March 20, 2012
HP reorg of PC and printers would trim costs
HP is looking to merge its PC and printer groups in an attempt to consolidate its efforts, insiders divulged Tuesday. The Imaging and Printing Group, along with the Personal Systems Group, were said by one AllThingsD informant to make "more operational sense" together. They would cut costs and have more truly integrated, unified strategies in the market.
PSG head Todd Bradley would end up heading the new section, contacts said. The announcement would come as soon as Tuesday, although HP hadn't confirmed any steps. It may wait until the market close to confirm any plans.
Both businesses have increasingly become problems for HP. Despite being well-known for its printers, HP's printer group lost seven percent in sales year-to-year, and 32 percent in profit, this fall. Some of this may have stemmed from its heavy dependence on Japan and the double effects of both a poor economy as well as the northern earthquake.
Its PC division's fate has been more urgent, as it has been bleeding market share. Apple's iPads and Macs, as well as faster-moving PC rivals like Lenovo, have been sapping away a market lead that many had thought unassailable. Some of the blame has been pinned on former CEO Leo Apotheker, who planned a PC group spin-out before he was fired. While he signaled the iPad effect as a key factor, many have since interpreted his move as an attempt to recreate his previous employer, the enterprise-focused SAP, at HP.
Junior Member
Joined: Jul 2009
Great!
The two groups can learn from each other. Now HP's printers can become something nobody wants, and their computers can require drivers which install a bunch of non-optional useless junk which wastes CPU time instead of using the driver system built into the OS.
Seriously, have you ever looked at what an official HP printer driver entails? Something like 3 separate background programs, all of which do stuff 99.999% of users actively DO NOT WANT to have, like an ink monitoring system which tries to make you buy new ink from HP's overpriced online store when the cartridge is half-empty.