- Micron has defended its decision to shut down the Crucial brand of consumer RAM
- A marketing executive said: “Our point of view is that we’re trying to help consumers all over the world. We’re just doing it through different channels.”
- This refers to the majority of Micron’s consumer business as providing RAM for OEM PCs, and the executive has a point to some extent – but so do the complainers.
The RAM crisis continues to rage, and some consumers are still furious too, and they remain unhappy that Micron dropped its Crucial brand last month – but the memory maker has just defended that decision.
Wccftech interviewed Christopher Moore, who is the VP of Marketing, Mobile and Client Business Unit at Micron (hat tip to VideoCardz). The tech side asked the CEO a series of questions about the current RAM shortage as it relates to consumer and AI demand (since the profit due to the latter is why system memory is getting thinner on consumer shelves).
The first and primary question Wccftech asked was about the backlash and negative sentiment surrounding Micron’s decision to shut down its Crucial consumer brand in favor of selling RAM to data centers for AI use.
Specifically, the tech site asked about “whether memory vendors are likely to turn to the AI sector and leave consumers behind,” and Moore took what might seem surprising at first.
The vice president said, “Well, first I want to try to help everybody understand that the perception might not be entirely correct, at least from our point of view. So I would never tell anybody what to think or that they’re wrong, but our point of view is that we’re trying to help consumers around the world. We’re just doing it through different channels. We still have a very big business in the market, and of course we also service our customers in our data center.
“And what’s going on right now is that TAM [total addressable market] and the data center is just growing enormously. And we want to make sure that we, as a company, also help to fulfill that TAM.”
Of course, Micron representing its Crucial shutdown as “trying to help consumers” has not gone over well, as this nugget of a statement could immediately feel like double talk or PR nonsense.
However, there’s a lot of digging behind what Moore means here, and Micron’s broader presence in the consumer RAM market.
Analysis: Decisive isn’t the big deal here – but it’s still a psychological blow
When Moore says that Micron is “trying to help consumers” but “does it through different channels,” what the VP is referring to is the memory maker that supplies PC manufacturers (OEMs) with RAM modules for their desktops and laptops (“the very big business in the client and mobile markets”).
Micron is one of the biggest suppliers of RAM in this regard, so what Moore argues is that this is still supporting consumers rather than abandoning them – even if the Crucial brand, the RAM hanging on the shelves that people can buy directly (as opposed to in a PC), is disappearing.
Naturally, the argument then becomes that average consumers still want to buy themselves directly, off the retail shelves, and that just supporting OEMs (for consumer PCs, which of course still benefits ordinary people) robs them of that ability – and so this is still a ‘repeal’ of support for the average PC owner.
What we can’t forget, though, is that Micron also sells memory chips for other third-party consumer RAM brands, and in theory there may now be more supply available for them (instead of showing up under the Crucial brand from Micron, it’ll just have a different brand on it).
Not convinced by any of it? Well, what is indisputable is that there will be some amount of RAM supply produced for consumers in 2026 (by which I mean the memory modules that end up on retailers’ shelves, be it online stores or brick-and-mortar stores). It will be less this year because there is a shortage of RAM supply and AI is a far more profitable sector to sell to versus consumers (for everyone, not just Micron) – that’s a fact. And crucially (ahem), whether or not Crucial exists will arguably not (meaningfully) affect those availability levels (and therefore consumer prices). As mentioned, whatever supply is available for RAM on retail shelves (not much) will get out there, regardless of what label it’s slapped on.
Also, keep in mind that Micron has not said it favors OEMs more (over consumers) now – it always has anyway – although we don’t know what actually happens behind closed doors in meeting rooms and on the production lines of the big factories (and whether there has been a shift in that regard).
Some RAM clarity, please
Am I trying to defend Micron here? It may seem that way, but I’m just trying to clarify where the company is coming from and to point out that exiting the Crucial brand isn’t really the primary pain point to focus on.
These overall RAM problems are caused by the galloping success of AI, which shows no signs of abating – but it’s also partly the fault of the memory manufacturers (Micron, along with its rivals) for their past actions of reducing production too much during tougher times (where there was an oversupply). Let’s not forget that. That’s an important factor, as well as the AI boom itself, as the RAM industry started well on the back foot with too lean inventory.
At the end of the day, as with any business, decisions are made largely on the basis of profit, and with only so much RAM supply to go around – which is to say, not nearly enough – AI will get the lion’s share, as there’s far more money in it, and consumers will get the crappy end of the deal. It’s just the cold world of business.
All that said, I can see why Moore’s comments didn’t sit well with some people (see this Reddit thread, for example), and why the shutdown of the Crucial brand seems like a lot of a blow, as it’s a very negative signal about how Micron feels about its consumable stock and sales. It is undeniable, hence the negative reaction to Micron from those consumers who are seriously (and rightly so) frustrated with the state of system memory (or indeed VRAM) right now.
Meanwhile, Moore notes that Micron has moved to increase its production capacity, but those expansion plans won’t see any meaningful impact on RAM supply until 2028. Again, that’s another warning sign that not only can memory problems last through this year, but they could also remain a big problem next year. In fact, it seems more and more likely by the day.
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