Motorola Inc.’s new cellphone boss met Wall Street this morning, trying to be humble about the company’s recent performance but confident about its future.
Stu Reed acknowledged the company’s missteps over the past 18 months: When the once red-hot Razr began to cool, Motorola didn’t have another hit up its sleeve, and it cut prices. Profit went out of the company’s core business and market share fell, along with the stock price.
Reed, who oversaw Schaumburg, Ill.-based Motorola’s supply chain but recently inherited the handset business, made plain that he’d received marching orders loud and clear from Moto CEO Edward Zander.
“It’s all about profitable market share,” he told analysts. “We will not grow if it’s not profitable. Aiming for No. 1 is clearly our objective.”
Then he turned to Motorola’s plans to fix the problems.
“We need to do three things to right this ship: We will not ride one horse to the bitter end again.”
He said Motorola will focus on streamlining its device platforms, using common components across different models, cutting production costs.
“If we’ve learned one harsh lesson over the last year and a half, that in a volume business like this you must be brutally efficient,” Reed said.
Amid the continued buzz surrounding Apple’s iPhone, he promised a steady stream of new products.
“Within 30 days, there will be another wave of announcements,” he said. “Trust me, it’s best-in-class design . coming in October. You’ll love it.”
John Pletz is a reporter with Crain’s Chicago Business, a sister publication to RCR Wireless News. Both publications are owned by Crain Communications Inc.
