I am skeptical of Panasonic's claim that the increase in market share is
because the mini-disk is lead free. A big increase in market share
often happens anytime a new product (the mini-disk) is introduced. A
good indicator that "Lead-Free" caused an increase in market share
would be if the product had been competing on the market for some time,
and the switch to "Lead-Free" with the green sticker was made, no
increase in advertising, just a change in marketing, resulting in an
increase in market share. Is this what Panasonic did? (Not that it
changes anything).
Thanks
Ryan Grant
Process Development Engineer
MCMS
(208) 898-1145
FAX (208) 898-2789
[log in to unmask]
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Kay Nimmo [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
>Sent: Thursday, October 07, 1999 1:53 AM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: [LF] Looking for corroboration - leadfree Panasonic Minidisc
>player ma rket share
>
>The engineer from Japan responsible for the production of the original
>lead-free Minidisk player visited ITRI to discuss various matters. He was
>also accompanied by representatives from Panasonic UK. This must have been
>around February this year.
>
>On that day we also arranged for a short meeting between Panasonic and
>several other engineers from the UK, mainly members of Soldertec. Some
>details of the Minidisk production were discussed and I believe it was Jim
>Vincent from Marconi (and project co-ordinator of IDEALS) who asked if the
>green leaf labelling of the MD had any effect on sales. Panasonic then
>provided the information on increase in market share from 4.7 to 15%.
>
>Kay
>
>+++++ Visit our lead-free.org website +++++
>ITRI Ltd, Kingston Lane, Uxbridge, Middx, UK, UB8 3PJ
>tel: +44 (0)1895 272406 fax: +44 (0)1895 251841
>email: [log in to unmask] www.itri.co.uk and www.lead-free.org
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Leadfree [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Davy, Gordon
>Sent: 06 October 1999 22:19
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: [LF] Looking for corroboration - leadfree Panasonic Minidisc
>player ma rket share
>
>One of the arguments being used for getting the lead out of electronics is
>that there is a consumer demand for green electronics. To support this
>assertion, the story is told that Panasonic produced a leadfree minidisc
>player and increased its market share by ten percentage points (or something
>like that). I have been looking for corroboration of this story, so far
>without success. I received a letter from Panasonic USA a few days ago
>saying that they don't know what a minidisc player is.
>
>I didn't either, but I found out from an enthusiast's page at
>http://mdf1.tripod.com/. (I have copied a part of the text below.) As far as
>I have been able to tell, Panasonic is not the originator of the minidisc
>and introduced its leadfree version on a trial basis in Japan alone. I don't
>know how the market share information was obtained, but given the frequency
>with which this story is being told, it seems to me that it would be nice to
>find out. I'd be particularly interested to find out how the increase in
>market share was attributed to the leadfree feature and not to any other
>distinguishing characteristic.
>
>In case anyone is interested, they can go to the MiniDisc Community Page at
>http://www.minidisc.org/ and do a search on Panasonic. You can read some
>reviews of some Panasonic models, but you won't see any references to
>leadfree. Panasonic seems not to be making much of a splash about being
>first to market with this feature.
>
>Excerpt from tripod:
>
>The MiniDisc is the logical successor to tapes, just as the CD was to vinyl
>records. It's important to note that the MiniDisc is primarily a recording
>medium. It was not designed as a replacement for the CD, just the
>decades-old cassette tape format. Confusion over the MiniDisc's intended
>purpose plus early technical limitations and high cost made its initial
>acceptance slow outside of Japan, but things have changed. In late 1997,
>Sony (inventor of the MiniDisc [in 1992]) lowered its prices and the format
>is now within the reach of most consumers. MiniDiscs are a digital recording
>& playback format much smaller than a CD, yet capable of delivering
>virtually identical sound quality. Each disc is encased in a protective
>housing measuring roughly 7cm x 7cm x 5mm thick. In addition to the housing
>is a plastic sleeve for each disc. Their compact size and durability makes
>MDs ideal for use outside the home. A typical MiniDisc stores up to 74
>minutes of stereo music and newer MDs can hold 80 minutes.
>
>Gordon Davy
>Northrop Grumman ESSS
>Baltimore, MD
>[log in to unmask]
>410-993-7399
>The author's views expressed here are not necessarily those of his employer.
>
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