Day Runner, TI Join Forces to Develop Organizers : Product: Fullerton-based firm says the Texas Instruments name will lend prestige to its new line of jointly designed paper/electronic planners.
Some people like to keep track of their social lives in a little black book, but record telephone numbers on a pocket computer. So Day Runner Inc. and Texas Instruments Inc. decided to join forces to sell personal organizers that answer both needs.
The two companies announced an agreement this week to jointly design a variety of personal organizers that combine the latest electronic technology with old-fashioned pen and paper.
The new line of products, expected to debut just in time for Christmas, would bear both of the firms’ names.
If there is a market for a paper/electronic personal organizer, the duo’s marriage of expertise could be a perfect match. Day Runner, headquartered in Fullerton, is the nation’s largest manufacturer of paper-based personal organizers. TI of Dallas is a Fortune 100 electronics corporation that generated more than $7 billion in revenue last year.
“It’s a great team, and brings credibility to the table for Day Runner,” said Seth Feinstein, an analyst with the Los Angeles brokerage Crowell, Weedon & Co., who follows the firm. The firm began selling its shares to the public in March. “Day Runner has name recognition, but many more people have heard of TI.”
Mark Vidovich, chairman and chief executive officer of Day Runner, declined to give specifics about what the planners would look like. He explained that he wants to save some surprise for the organizers’ official unveiling at the National Office Products Assn. trade show in New Orleans next month.
But Vidovich would say that the organizers, ranging in size and electronic complexity, will be priced under $300--with at least one style costing less than $100.
Day Runner’s personal organizer is a loose-leaf date book that can be divided into categories such as “objectives” and “project plan outline.”
Vidovich said that the idea to unite with TI was inspired by surveys of Day Runner customers. “Many people would rather perform certain functions on paper, and other functions on computer,” he said. “We wanted to give them the choice.”
Meanwhile, TI was conducting the same sort of surveys, said company spokeswoman Cathy Sang.
“Our research showed that not everyone feels comfortable using a totally electronic organizer,” she said. “We thought Day Runner’s expertise would complement ours. Now we can’t remember if Day Runner came to us first or if we went to them first; it seems we both had the concept at the same time.”
Last year, TI introduced a line of moderately priced electronic organizers that are similar to Sharp Corp.’s popular Wizard, though less sophisticated.
Day Runner stock closed at $12.25, up 25 cents, on the over-the-counter market Wednesday. Texas Instruments stock closed at $33.25, up 50 cents, on the New York Stock Exchange.
