Acer Company Strategy
Unknown is whether the Acer brand will continue to become popular in the U.S. In today’s conference call about the Gateway acquisition, Acer President Gianfranco Lanci said he plans to keep all three brands (that’s Acer, Gateway and eMachines).
But it hasn’t been determined how the brands will be presented to consumers. Gateway could be the premium brand in the U.S., but not overseas. Emachines, however, will probably still be the low-end brand since its computers start in the sub-$400 range.
However they decide and whether or not the acquisition is completed, expect to hear more about Acer. The company is determined to dominate the computer industry. Today’s news will make the combined company the world’s third largest PC maker, ahead of Lenovo.
And another Gateway tidbit from today, the Irvine company is buying the Packard Bell brand as part of an agreement with Lap Shun “John” Hui, the former owner of eMachines who still owns a 4.9 percent stake in Gateway. He gave Gateway the first right to Packard Bell and Gateway said early Monday that it will take Hui up on his offer.
That means, said David Daoud, an IDC analyst, Acer will be just a tad larger than Dell in Europe at 16.8 percent vs. Dell’s 16 percent.
Good for consumers? That, too, is not known. Lanci with Acer says this gives consumers and retailers more choice at the store. Daoud’s take is that this is definitely good for Gateway. For consumers? That remains to be determined.
