Seagate to Continue to Build Maxtor Brand in Retail, Channels
By Chris Preimesberger
August 18, 2006
Seagate Technology, the world's No. 1 computer disk drive maker, will continue to support Maxtor's branded products, its customer base, and all warranties in all retail and distribution channels, a company marketing executive told eWEEK Aug. 17.
Seagate also will continue production of Maxtor's DiamondMax product line and is preparing to launch a mobile hard drive for notebooks called MobileMax in October, said Marc Jourlait, Seagate's vice president for segment marketing.
MobileMax will be a 2.5-inch hard drive with capacities up to 160GB and speeds of up to 7200rpm, Jourlait said. The company will release more information at a later date, he said.
The Scotts Valley, Calif.-based company concluded its acquisition of Maxtor—the world's No. 4 seller of disk drives—for $1.9 billion in stock on May 22.
Jourlait said that Seagate would continue to offer Seagate and Maxtor-branded products to differing market and distribution segments. It's better for the customers, who are used to seeing these brands, as well as the channel distributors, who will have more to offer, Jourlait said.
"It's not like we're going to complete with ourselves," Jourlait said, because the products will be moving onto different retail shelves and aimed at different market segments.
"As we were going through the acquisition," Jourlait said, "we realized that there was relatively little overlap in our product offerings. We were a little surprised that most of our two companies' products each fit into niches that the other company did not address."
Product lines dovetail—for the most part
For example, Jourlait said, Maxtor had a dedicated sales force and product line aimed squarely at the video and television production industry—a space where Seagate had not played before.
"Also, in the federal government—including the Department of Homeland Safety—and military segments, Maxtor is very big, and Seagate was not. So these vertical markets are what we are now addressing with our channel strategy," Jourlait said.
Seagate will expand its offerings to create a broader set of products, programs and services around both the Maxtor and Seagate brands, Jourlait said.
