Acer Inc. (/ˈeɪsər/ or /ˈæzər/; Chinese: 宏碁股份有限公司;pinyin: Hóngqí Gǔfèn Yǒuxiàn Gōngsī, lit. Hongqi Corporation Ltd.; commonly known as Acer, stylised as acer, or formerly asacer & AceR) is a Taiwanese multinational hardware and electronics corporation specialising in advanced electronics technology and is headquartered in Xizhi, New Taipei City,Taiwan. Acer's products include desktop and laptop PCs, tablet computers, servers, storage devices, Virtual Reality devices, displays, LED, LCD and plasma televisions, smartphones and peripherals. It also provides e-business services to businesses, governments and consumers. In 2015, Acer was the sixth-largest personal computer vendor in the world.[3] In the early 2000s, Acer implemented a new business model, shifting from a manufacturer to a designer, marketer and distributor of products, while performing production processes via contract manufacturers.[4] In addition to its core business, Acer owns the largest franchised computer retail chain, AcerLand.[5]
History
Acer was founded by Stan Shih (施振榮), his wife Carolyn Yeh, and a group of five others as Multitech in 1976, headquartered in Hsinchu City, Taiwan.
It began with eleven employees and US$25,000 in capital. Initially, it was primarily a distributor of electronic parts and a consultant in the use of microprocessor technologies. It produced the Micro-Professor MPF-I training kit, then two Apple II clones; the Microprofessor II and III before joining the emerging IBM PC compatible market, and becoming a significant PC manufacturer. The company was renamed Acer in 1987.
In 1998, Acer reorganised into five groups: Acer International Service Group, Acer Sertek Service Group, Acer Semiconductor Group, Acer Information Products Group, and Acer Peripherals Group. To dispel complaints from clients that Acer competed with its own products and to alleviate the competitive nature of the branded sales vs. contract manufacturing businesses, In 2000 the company spun off the contract business, renaming it Wistron Corporation. The restructuring resulted in two primary units: brand name sales and contract manufacturing. In 2001 the company got rid of its manufacturing units, Benq andWistron to focus resources on design and sales.
Acer increased worldwide sales while simultaneously reducing its labor force by identifying and using marketing strategies that best utilized their existing distribution channels. By 2005, Acer employed a scant 7,800 people worldwide. Revenues rose from US$4.9 billion in 2003[6] to US$11.31 billion in 2006.
Acer's North American market share has slipped over the past few years, while in contrast, the company's European market share has risen.[7]
In the mid-2000s years, consumer notebooks have been almost the sole growth drivers for the PC industry, and Acer's exceptionally low overheads and dedication to the channel had made it one of the main beneficiaries of this trend.[8] Acer grew quickly in Europe in part by embracing the use of more traditional distribution channels targeting retail consumers when some rivals were pursuing online sales and business customers. In 2007 Acer bought Gateway in the USA and Packard Bell in Europe and became the Number 3 world provider of computers and number 2 for notebooks, and achieved significant improvement in profitability. Acer has been striving to become the world's largest PC vendor, in the belief that the goal can help it achieve economy of scale and garner higher margin.[9] But such a reliance on the high-volume, low-value PC market made Acer exposed when buying habits changed.
2013 re-organisation
In November 2013 Chairman and CEO J.T. Wang, and President Jim Wong, both resigned due to the company's bad financial performance. Wang had already been reportedly due to leave Acer at year end, to be replaced by Wong. Acer founder Stan Shih has taken over as board chairman and interim president as the company searches for a new candidate to assume the role of presidency. The position of CEO will be eliminated and its responsibilities transferred to the chairman or president, according to Acer in order to improve decision-making efficiency.[10][11][12] On December 23 Acer named Jason Chen, vice president of worldwide sales and marketing at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, as its new president and CEO, effective Jan. 1.[13] Entertainment industry executive and former actress Nancy Hu was named CFO and Spokesperson as of May 1, 2014.[14]
Acquisitions
In 1988, Acer acquired Counterpoint Computers.
In 1990, Acer acquired Altos Computer Corporation.
In 1997, Acer acquired Texas Instruments notebook computer business.
On 27 August 2007, Acer announced plans to acquire its US-based rival Gateway, Inc. for US$710 million. Acer's chairman, Jen-tang Wang, stated that the acquisition "completes Acer's global footprint, by strengthening our United States presence".[15] Included in this acquisition was the eMachinesbrand.
In January 2008, Acer announced that it had acquired a controlling interest of 75% of Packard Bell.[16]
In August 2010, Acer and Founder Technology signed a memorandum of mutual understanding to strengthen their long term PC business cooperation.
Figures
29 April 2010[19]
- Acer announced revenue in Q1 rose 36 percent year-on-year to NT$162.1 billion (US$5.2 billion) and its net profit increased 63 percent to 3.29 billion New Taiwan dollars (US$104.7 million); 27 percent of revenue comes from the U.S.
- Gianfranco Lanci announced that Acer will launch 4 new smartphones by Q3 2010, and a series of "Internet Devices" by the end of May which will run version 4.0 of its Shell user interface.
- According to Gartner and IDC, Acer now ranks No. 1 worldwide in notebook shipments.[20]
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