WordPerfect Corp. reached a new high with annual sales of $532.6 million in 1991.

But compared to percentage growth in past years, the company's sales have slowed. In 1991, annual sales increased $81 million or 18 percent over 1990 sales. In the previous three years, sales grew an average of 65 percent or $117 million per year.Beth McGill, manager of corporate communications, said WordPerfect's slower growth may be due to several factors: the recession, a general industry slowdown, no substantial update of the DOS version of WordPerfect for several years and delays in getting WordPerfect for Windows on the market.

"There has been a slowdown in the industry in general and we are quite pleased that we do see some growth still," McGill said.

WordPerfect has much at stake with its new Windows program, which allows word processing to take place in a graphics environment. Microsoft Corp. currently dominates the windows market. Graphic word processing programs are the wave of the future, according to software analysts.

WordPerfect hoped to introduce its Windows software during the first quarter of 1991 but didn't begin shipments until November. WordPerfect for Windows is apparently troubled by more than a delayed delivery; the program is getting mixed reviews.

PC Week praised WordPerfect for Windows in its Nov. 18 issue, calling the program easy to install and use, while noting some functions, such as printing, were much slower. In its edition a week later, PC Week stated some users were finding serious bugs in WordPerfect for Windows.

The December issue of Computer Shopper said WordPerfect for Windows was a "fine" word processing program, but that it isn't as easy to use as other windows programs.

Louise Fickel, a reporter for InfoWorld magazine, said "some users have been rather disappointed in the Windows version, but not all current DOS users have looked at the product yet."

Others in the industry are more blunt. David Strom, editor of Network Computing, said WordPerfect's program is "not up to snuff."

"They have not executed well on the Windows product," Strom said. "Developing a windows product is like developing a new religion. You have to adapt to a new lifestyle and they haven't done that well yet."

WordPerfect acknowledges its new program has bugs but says that's not atypical for the first version of a software program. In addition, WordPerfect is competing against companies that have second-generation products on the market, said Liz Tanner, publicist for WordPerfect for Windows.

WordPerfect plans to issue an interim update of Windows in the next couple of months, Tanner said. The release will correct some of the problems reported by users through WordPerfect's customer support service.

"Overall it's a solid product," Tanner said. "People are just trying to adjust to a windows environment."

*****

(Additional information)

WordPerfect growth

Annual sales Users Employees

View Comments

1988 $178 million 2.6 million 1,130

1989 $281 million 3.8 million 1,612

1990 $452 million 7.1 million 2,673

1991 $533 million 8.3 million 2,812

Join the Conversation
Looking for comments?
Find comments in their new home! Click the buttons at the top or within the article to view them — or use the button below for quick access.