Osbourne

The company said that the Osborne 1 machine, which retailed for $1,995, would be reduced immediately to $1,295.

"We once were all alone in this business and now have several competitors," said Mike Sanchez, a company spokesman. "We want to shake up the market again, like we did when we introduced the machine."

"The company has lost substantial market share to Kaypro and others," said David S. Lawrence, an analyst with Montgomery Securities in San Francisco. He was referring to the Kaypro Corporation, which markets a popular portable.

The company has also reportedly been hurt by the recent chaos in the low end of the computer market, which has hit Warner Communication's Atari unit and Texas Instruments Inc. most severely. Both companies recently reported record losses.
(New York Times, July 9, 1983)

The Osborne Computer Corporation, one of the pioneers in the market for personal portable computers, said yesterday that it had closed its manufacturing plant in Monmouth Junction, N.J. Analysts said the move indicated a weakening of demand for the closely held company's products, and was further evidence of its reported cash-flow problems.

Osborne said the closing, which affected about 100 workers, would leave it with one manufacturing plant, at its headquarters in Hayward, Calif. That plant, with 775 workers, produces both of the company's current products - the Osborne 1, introduced in 1981, and the Executive, which the company began shipping this summer.

The New Jersey plant produced only the Osborne 1, which analysts say has lost a significant amount of its market share to several new competitors, notably the Kaypro Corporation and the Compaq Computer Corporation, both of which introduced portable computers within the last year.

Last Thursday, in a move to bolster sales, Osborne slashed prices on the Osborne 1 by $700, to $1,295.

"Kaypro has really taken the market away," said David S. Lawrence, an analyst with Montgomery Securities in San Francisco. "This is further external evidence that the company is in bad shape."

'Textbook Mistake'

According to Mr. Lawrence, Osborne made a "textbook mistake" by announcing its new computer, the Executive, early this year before being ready to ship it. "Dealers stopped ordering the old machine, and started waiting for the new one," he said.

Mr. Lawrence said he expected Osborne's computer shipments for both models to total about 75,000 units this year, about the same as in 1982. The retail price of the Executive, which is essentially an improved version of the Osborne 1, is about $2,495.

"Industry observers love to say that Osborne is about to go broke," said Adam Osborne, the company's chairman and founder, in a telephone interview. "We weren't supposed to succeed in the first place."

According to Mr. Osborne, the New Jersey plant closing was primarily a result of efficiency measures that allow production of the same number of Osborne 1 units at the California plant, although he did concede that sales had been softening.

"We're in a seasonable cycle," he said. However, he added that the company had no plans to reopen the Monmouth Junction plant if sales improved.

Mr. Osborne said a new round of private financing would also improve the company's cash-flow picture. "If we didn't get the new financing, we would be in trouble," he said. Analyst estimates placed the amount of the financing at near $20 million.

The New Jersey plant, which begin operating in February 1982, had a capacity of about 200 to 250 Osborne 1 units a day, and has been operating at capacity, Mr. Osborne said. The Hayward plant can produce about the same number of Osborne 1 units, or up to 800 Executive models per day.
(New York Times, August 3, 1983)

The Osborne Computer Corporation, the upstart that introduced the briefcase-sized portable computer, announced yesterday that it had filed for bankruptcy. It was the first in what analysts said could become a series of failures in the heavily competitive personal-computer industry. ...

The move followed months of intensifying competition from numerous portable computers as well as from Personal Computer, a product of the vast International Business Machines Corporation. ...

Experts attributed Osborne Computer's collapse primarily to Mr. Osborne's failure to anticipate the enormous success of the I.B.M. Personal Computer. Not only has the Personal Computer taken away sales from Osborne Computer, it also has set new technical standards for the industry that make the Osborne machine incompatible with many fast-selling models. ...

The Osborne I was not without flaws. Its tiny green screen, measuring about 5 inches across, was hard on the eyes, and could display a row of words only half a page wide.

And soon a host of other portable computers were introduced by companies like the Kaypro Corporation of Solana Beach, Calif., and the Compaq Computer Corporation of Houston. The Kaypro was a less expensive version of the Osborne I and the Compaq, while more expensive, operated on all of the programs available for I.B.M.'s Personal Computer. Facing I.B.M. Competition.
(New York Times, Sept 15, 1983)