Acer company: loyalty to the traditions of quality. See what "acer" is in other dictionaries Acer company country of origin

One of the most popular brands in the computer equipment segment is Acer. Country of origin - Taiwan. The economy of this state is largely built around the IT industry. But among the many computer companies in Taiwan, Acer occupies a special place. The manufacturer is the largest on the island and one of the leaders in the global computer market.

Start of activity

The company traces its history back to one of the many small Taiwanese firms of the 1970s. This was Multitech International, which was founded in 1976 by Stan Shea. The starting capital was only 25 thousand dollars. Initially, the basis of the product line was microelectronics. The company did not stand out among its competitors in any way. But Stan Shi was able to see great prospects in the nascent personal computer market. Thanks to his instincts, the company launched mass production of IBM-compatible PCs.

Having done this first in Taiwan, the company began to rapidly increase its turnover. The first model was the Microprocessor-I computer, created in 1981. Then in 1982 the eight-bit Microprocessor-II was created. During these years, the basic principle of operation of the future Acer as a manufacturing company operating on average price segment. The company chose inexpensive, but not the cheapest, machines as its niche, which were distinguished by good build quality and developed functionality.

Outside Taiwan

Already since 1985, the company created representative offices in other countries, and the first were Germany and Japan. At the same time, various divisions began to appear in the company under the name Acer. So, in 1984, the Acer Peripherals division was created, which later turned into a separate BenQ brand.

Common name

And since 1988, the entire corporation began to be called Acer Group. You can notice the synthesis of European and Asian in the name Acer. The country of origin is a representative of Asian culture, so the name has a poetic translation of “sharp” or “swift”. But the word “acer” itself is Latin, since the main sales market is the countries of Europe and America.

Acer gradually bought up many computer manufacturers in the country, while preserving their old brands. This is one of the company's features. Despite the great popularity of its own brand, it does not seek to absorb sub-brands, but rather develops them in every possible way. For example, Acer owns one of the largest manufacturers of matrices for liquid crystal monitors - AU Optronics.

Acquisition of foreign firms

Soon after the renaming, the company broke out of the country of origin. In the same 1988, Acer Group absorbed the American company Counterpoint Computers, which was a major developer of computer equipment in the United States. And in 1989, Acer gained a foothold in Europe by acquiring the Dutch Kangaroo Computer B.V., which became the basis of European production capacity corporations. In the same year, Acer, together with a large American manufacturer, Texas Instruments, created a joint venture producing memory chips for PCs. In 1990, the corporation absorbed Altos Computer Systems, which specialized in creating multi-user computer systems. Since 1992, the company's headquarters have moved to Singapore due to more favorable legislation and business climate.

The growth of Acer's technological potential can be seen by the fact that in 1994 even the legendary Intel acquired a license to use one of the technologies developed by the corporation.

Reorganization

Incredibly rapid growth in the late 1990s resulted in a machine that was cumbersome and difficult to manage. Therefore, in 2000, a major restructuring was carried out, within which the corporation was divided into three industrial groups Acer, Wistron and BenQ. This made it possible to optimize and concentrate under one leadership each of the company's activities, which became known as the Pan Acer Group. This reorganization was a fundamental step that allowed the corporation to withstand growing competition Chinese manufacturers and future crises.

A crisis

Any growth has its limits, and the industry crisis that struck in 2001 seriously hit the Pan Acer Group. Revenues fell more than 20% and the stock price fell to near rock bottom. However, Stan Shea managed to maintain investor confidence and the very next year the company significantly exceeded the pre-crisis 2000 indicators. In the new millennium, Acer began to pay increasing attention to such a promising market as laptops. Having become the country's largest laptop manufacturer, Acer gradually made this the main direction, relegating personal computers to second place.

This is largely due to the fact that laptops have gradually almost caught up with PCs in terms of performance, while significantly superior in ergonomics. Therefore, the direction of the company’s activities was largely determined by the development of the computer equipment market as a whole.

Post-crisis years

In 2005, Gianfranco Lanci, who had previously been the head of the Italian and later the pan-European representative office of the company, became the new president of the corporation. In 2007, the corporation included such large brands as Packard Bell, Gateway and eMachines. They all retained their own names. And after purchasing the E-Ten company, the corporation entered the smartphone market, which began to be sold under the Acer brand, since an excessive number of trademarks could have a negative impact on sales.

Currently, one of the most popular brands of computer equipment is Acer. Many users associate the manufacturing country Taiwan with higher quality products than mainland China. In the case of Acer this is indeed true. The brand still maintains an optimal balance between quality and price, while keeping up with its competitors in terms of technology.

The most famous laptop manufacturers in our country are alphabetical order: Acer, Apple, Asus, Dell, Fujitsu, Getac, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, MSI, Panasonic, RoverComputers, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba.

However, most of the listed companies are not directly involved in the production of laptops, but order them from third-party manufacturers (OEM - Original equipment manufacturer).

As a rule, the customer company develops a laptop project containing requirements for the composition and arrangement of components, materials used, etc. and orders it from OEM. After the laptop hardware is produced by a third-party manufacturer (OEM), a well-known customer installs it in the laptop HDD with pre-installed software and installs a keyboard with the language of the desired region.

Acer- Taiwanese corporation for the production of computer equipment and electronics.

The company was founded in 1976, the first name was Mulitech International. In 1988, the corporation was renamed Acer, which translated from Latin means “active, purposeful, smart.”

Acer ranks second in the world in the supply of personal computers and laptops.

Acer has been one of the leaders in the supply of laptops and tablets to Russia for several years, occupying leading positions with its main competitor, ASUS. According to various analytical agencies, one or the other company is in the lead.

Apple Inc. - American corporation, manufacturer of tablet computers, laptops, audio players, phones, software. The company was founded in 1976.

Apple is one of the pioneers in creating personal computers and modern multitasking operating systems with a graphical interface.

Currently, among the most popular products manufactured in Russia by Apple: tablet computers iPad, Cell phones iPhone, MacBook laptops,MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, Mac mini iMac Mac Pro, computer monitors, servers, Apple TV multimedia players, iPod portable multimedia players.

ASUSTeK Computer Inc. – a Taiwanese company that produces motherboards, video cards, laptops, PDAs, monitors, system units, optical drives, communications equipment, PC components, servers.

The company was founded in 1989. The name of the ASUS company comes from the word Pegasus (Pegasus), the name of the winged horse from ancient Greek mythology, a symbol of inspiration in creativity and science.

Asus is one of the leaders in the supply of laptops and tablet computers to Russia.
Thanks to reliability and affordable prices ASUS laptops very popular in Russia.

Dell, Inc. is a large American corporation for the production of computer equipment, including servers, data storage systems, workstations, network equipment, personal computers, laptops and PDAs, printers, multifunctional devices, monitors, projectors, televisions.

The company was founded by Michael Dell in 1984, first called PC Limited, after 2003 it became known as Dell Inc.

Dell Inc. has been supplying its products to the Russian market since 1993.

Dell Latitude laptops and Dell Precision mobile workstations are designed specifically for business users. Rugged construction and rigorous manufacturer testing allow us to classify Dell laptops to the class of rugged laptops, with some models having MIL STD 810G security certificates and high IP (Ingress Protection) ratings.

Fujitsu Limited- Japanese corporation, manufacturer of electronics, computers, laptops, monitors, servers. Fujitsu Limited is also the largest IT company specializing in the development of IT products, systems and solutions. Fujitsu Limited includes hundreds of subsidiaries and dozens of joint ventures around the world.

All Fujitsu core products are manufactured in Japan and Germany and are backed by technical support network of service centers in Russia and the world.

In Russia, Fujitsu Limited is officially represented by Fujitsu Technology Solutions, which is the successor to Fujitsu Siemens Computers.

Corporation Getac Technology is one of the main subsidiaries of the commercial association MiTAC-Synnex, the third largest association of manufacturers computer systems in Taiwan. The main areas of activity of the corporation are the production of ruggedized (protected) computers and housings for plastic and metal components.

Getac Technology was founded in 1989 as a joint venture of MiTAC Inc. and GE Aerospace, which specializes in the production of electronic equipment for the defense industry.

Getac Technology is one of the world's leaders in the supply of secure computers under the Getac brand.

In Russia, Getac Technology ranks second (after Panasonic Corporation) in the supply of rugged laptops, tablet computers and PDAs.

Corporation Hewlett-Packard(HP) is a large American IT company, a generally recognized world leader in the field of IT solutions and computer technologies.
The company was founded in 1939 by Stanford University graduates William Hewlett and Dave Packard.

Hewlett-Packard is the Russian market leader in the supply of printing devices and supercomputers.

In 2010, Hewlett-Packard, together with Foxconn, opened the production of HP personal computers in St. Petersburg.

In terms of laptop supplies to Russia, HP is among the top five.

Lenovo Group Limited is a large Chinese computer company - a supplier of ready-made IT solutions and a manufacturer of personal computers, laptops, PDAs, servers, monitors, video projectors. Currently, it is one of the world leaders in the personal computer sector (fourth place in the world).

Lenovo Group Limited was founded in 1984 by a group of Chinese scientists with funds from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The company was originally called New Technology Developer Incorporated. In 2003, the company changed its name to Lenovo.

In 2005, Lenovo bought the personal computer division from the American company IBM.

Basic trade marks, under which they are issued Lenovo laptops- ThinkPad and IdeaPad.

Lenovo Group Limited is one of the top five leaders in the supply of laptops to Russia.

MSI(Micro-Star International) is a large Taiwanese company, one of the world leaders in the production of desktop and server motherboards, and video cards, laptops, servers, network equipment, optical devices and other consumer electronics.

MSI produces 50% of its products for the OEM market. The world's leading computer manufacturers order large quantities of components from MSI to assemble their own products.

The company was founded in 1986.

It has been producing laptops since 2004. With its signature motto of “Style and Innovation,” MSI has set itself the goal of becoming one of the top ten global notebook brands.

Panasonic Corporation- Japanese engineering corporation, one of the world's largest manufacturers household appliances and electronic goods.

The company was founded in 1918 as Matsushita Electric Housewares Manufacturing Works, and the name has changed several times since then. Since 2008, the company became known as Panasonic Corporation.

In 1996, the company created the CF-25 rugged computer model, which entered the market under the Toughbook brand (resistant, unbending).

Currently, Panasonic Corporation is the leader in the supply of Panasonic Toughbook rugged computers and laptops in the world and in Russia.

Toughbook is a family of laptops and tablet computers designed for use in environments unfavorable for electronics.

The Toughbook line consists of lightweight business laptops, business-rugged, semi-rugged and fully-rugged laptops.

RoverComputers- an independent group of companies with one hundred percent Russian capital, including the production and distribution of computer equipment and digital electronics.

RoverComputers was founded in 1991 as a service company. Since 1995, it has been producing portable electronics - this year the first RoverBook laptop was released.

Currently, RoverComputers combines several product lines: RoverBook laptops, RoverPC smartphones and communicators, RoverMedia MP3 players, RoverShot digital cameras and RoverMate digital equipment accessories.

Having established the production of portable PCs, RoverComputers became one of the first OEM partners Intel. Today, the RoverBook laptop is the only portable PC of domestic origin that successfully competes with global brands and has a significant market share.

The company produces and sells more than 150 thousand laptops per year. Over the fifteen years of its existence, the Russian RoverBook has won more than a hundred awards, several times become the leader in the sales ranking in Russia and twice won the BRAND OF THE YEAR/EFFIE award.

Sony Corporation- a transnational corporation with headquarters in Japan and the USA - the world's leading manufacturer of household and industrial electrical equipment.

The company was founded in Japan in 1946 as Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisa, or Totsuko for short, and renamed Sony in 1955. Currently, Sony Corporation is one of the operating divisions that are part of the holding. Sony Group.

The production of laptops in the Sony Group holding is carried out by the operating division of Sony VAIO. The VAIO brand appeared in 1996; the production of personal computers was resumed under this brand after a fifteen-year break.

Sony laptops first appeared in Russia in 1996; at first they were unofficially imported mainly from Germany. Official deliveries to the Russian Federation began in 2005, although by that time Sony VAIO brand products had already become widespread.

Sony VAIO laptops often take leading positions in various expert ratings.

Sony Corporation is among the top ten leaders in terms of laptop supplies to Russia.

South Korean concern Samsung Group is an industrial concern, one of the world's largest manufacturers of electronic equipment, telecommunications equipment, household appliances, audio and video devices. The concern includes several dozen companies.

The company's electronics industry divisions operate throughout the world, most of its products are exported.

The company was founded in 1938, the initial activity was the production of rice flour.

In 1969, Samsung merged with electronics manufacturer Sanyo, which marked the beginning of one of the largest sectors of the Samsung Group - Samsung Electronics.

In 1980, the company began producing computers, and in 1983, the production of personal computers was opened.

By laptop sales volume in Russia Samsung Electronics has been in the top five in recent years.

Toshiba Corporation- a large international concern, diversified manufacturer and supplier of the latest electronic and electrical devices and equipment, equipment, communication and information transmission systems, solutions and services based on the use of the Internet, electronic components and materials, power plants and power supply systems, industrial and social systems infrastructure, as well as household appliances.

Toshiba Corporation, originally called Tokyo Shibaura Electric Co., Ltd., was created in 1939 through the merger of two large Japanese companies: Tanaka Engineering Works and Hakunetsu-sha & Co. The company soon became known as Toshiba, which became its official name in 1978.

It is difficult to overestimate the role of Toshiba in creating laptops. Back in 1985, Toshiba introduced the IBM-compatible Toshiba T1100 laptop computer, one of the very first laptops in history.

In 1987, Toshiba produced the world's first laptop, the T5100, with a 386 processor.
Since then, Toshiba has dominated the laptop market while remaining a leader in innovation. A large number of modern technologies and devices used in modern laptops were used for the first time in the world in laptops from Toshiba.

Thus, Toshiba releases the world's first laptop with a color screen and the world's first laptop with a 2.5-inch hard drive, the world's first color active matrix laptop and laptop with built-in PCMCIA connectors, the first laptop with a processor Intel Pentium and a laptop with a built-in reading drive laser discs, the world's first laptop with the ability to display 16 million colors on an LCD screen and the world's first ultraportable laptop with a built-in CD-ROM. For the first time in the world, Toshiba laptops, starting with the Satellite 220, were equipped with USB ports.

By the beginning of the 21st century, Toshiba controlled more than 30% of the global laptop market, being a designer and manufacturer of the entire range of portable computers - from inexpensive models, designed to solve a wide range of tasks, to ultra-powerful presentation laptops for processing large amounts of information and complex graphics.

Since April 2001, the concern has had a representative office in Russia.

Toshiba is among the top ten leaders in laptop supplies to Russia.

ACER ACER

ACER (full Acer Group) is a Taiwanese corporation, the world's leading manufacturer of computer equipment; founded in 1976 under the name Multitech International. In the early 1980s. began production of inexpensive IBM (cm. I-B-EM)-compatible personal computers with which we managed to enter the international market. In 1985 it opened representative offices in Japan and Germany. In 1987, Acer Laboratories Incorporated was created (a division for the development and production of chipsets). In 1988, the entire company became known as Acer.
In 1988, Acer acquired the American company Counterpoint Computers (San Jose, California), a developer and manufacturer of minicomputers, and in 1989, the Dutch company Kangaroo Computer, which became the basis for the production facilities of the AcerEurope division. High level The company's work has been recognized by the world's leading computer companies. In 1989, Acer and Texas Instruments (a leading American semiconductor manufacturing company) created a joint venture to produce memory chips. In 1990, Acer acquired Altos Computer Systems, one of the leaders in the production of multi-user systems.
In 1991, ChipUpTM technology was developed at Acer research laboratories, the license for the use of which was purchased by Intel in 1994 (cm. INTEL). In 1992, Acer's head office was moved to Singapore. In 1997, Acer acquired a division of Texas Instruments, specializing in the development and marketing of portable computers. In 2000, the company began a reorganization - a division for the development and production of products under OEM contracts was separated into a separate independent company called Wistron, and in 2001, an independent corporation BenQ was formed on the basis of Acer Communication & Multimedia. Acer group factories produce a wide range of products - desktop and laptop computers, server equipment, storage devices, monitors and peripherals, digital devices, LCD TVs and e-business solutions designed for use in businesses, government, education and the home.
An organizational structure that is as close as possible to sales markets allows the company to supply finished products at low prices. In 1996, an assembly plant aimed at the Russian market was opened in Finland. Acer has branches in dozens of countries and employs thousands of employees. The company's total revenue in 2004 exceeded $7 billion.

encyclopedic Dictionary. 2009 .

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Acer brand history

There are a lot of computer companies in Taiwan, but there are very few that have managed to have such a big impact on the computer market, as Acer has done, producing ready-made systems, laptops and, more recently, smartphones. The list of manufactured products also includes projection equipment, consumer electronics and various peripherals and components.

Having now become one of the most influential corporations, Acer Group originates from a small computer company Mulitech International, founded by Stan Shih in 1976. A small starting capital of 25,000 US dollars and a couple of dozen employees - everything is standard and very sad. However, in the early 80s, they managed to obtain significant subsidies from the government and were the first to launch mass production of IBM-compatible computers in Taiwan. It was in those years that the main principle of the company was laid, which is still used today - the production of inexpensive computers with good performance and acceptable quality. This approach has fully justified itself. Already in 1985, the company began to open representative offices in other countries (Japan and Germany were the first). Various divisions begin to form, the name of which already contains the word “acer”. Of these, Acer Peripherals should be especially noted - in the future, the BenQ brand will be born from it. Here it is appropriate to mention another well-known Taiwanese company - ASUS, which was organized by four engineers who left Acer.

The year 1988 was marked by the fact that the entire corporation had already changed its name to the one used today, Acer Group appeared. "Acer" is translated from Latin as "sharp, vigilant, swift". However, there are other, less pleasant meanings - "caustic, sullen, shrill", such a capacious word. In the same year, it entered the American market. To achieve this, Counterpoint Computers is acquired. Further - more: European positions are strengthened by the acquisition of the Dutch Kangaroo Computer B.V. And this was just the beginning. Acer is growing rapidly, capturing new markets and absorbing other companies. In 1997, the company managed to become one of the leaders in the computer market.

At the beginning of the 21st century, a major restructuring was carried out, rejuvenating the overweight company. This is how Acer Group appeared, consisting of three components - Acer, Wistron and BenQ. If such a restructuring had not been carried out promptly and promptly, then, most likely, the Acer Group would have ceased to be so important, since the then crisis in the IT industry seriously reduced the company's revenues.

Today, the Acer Group owns four brands - Acer itself, as well as Packard Bell, Gateway and eMachines. In 2008, it entered the smartphone market - the company E-TEN was acquired. However, it was decided to abandon another brand so as not to confuse consumers. Smartphones are produced under the Acer brand.

Computers and Acer laptops, aimed at different users, are not considered prestigious. But they are inexpensive (no extra charge for a beautiful brand!) and are of good quality, which has determined their well-deserved popularity in the market. In this matter, they are significantly ahead of other well-known manufacturers.

Acer's success is exactly the opposite of Apple's. No prestige, but low cost with good opportunities. By the way, the design of this product is very good. However, we cannot fail to mention Acer Ferrari - laptops belonging to the upper segment - here you have an attractive design and high performance and a price like Apple. But still, the vast majority of Acer products are very cheap. Stan Shi himself once noted about his competitors that they simply do not know how to create and sell inexpensive equipment, and therefore will not withstand the competition. Acer's goal is first place. And the corporation has every chance to achieve it.

The corporate headquarters is located in Taipei, Taiwan. The company's representative offices and factories are scattered around the world and provide employment to thousands of people. The company's products are very popular in the CIS countries.

Story
In 1976 Stan Shea founded Multitech International. The company's initial capital was $25,000. Initially, the company employed 11 people.
In 1979, the company designed the first Taiwanese computer intended for export.
In 1981 the company created 8-bit Personal Computer MicroProfessor-II based on MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor.
In 1985, the company created the world's first 32-bit personal computer, beating IBM.
Representative offices were opened in Japan and Germany.
In 1987, Acer Laboratories Incorporated was created - a division for the development and production of its own chipsets.
In 1988, the entire corporation was renamed Acer (in Latin this word means “maple”).
A major breakthrough to leadership occurred: Acer acquired the American company Counterpoint Computers (San Jose, California), at that time a major developer and manufacturer of mini-computers.
In 1989, the Dutch company Kangaroo Computer B.V. was purchased, which then became the basis of the production facilities of the AcerEurope division.
Acer and Texas Instruments, a leader in the US semiconductor industry, have created a joint venture to produce memory chips.
In 1990, Acer acquired Altos Computer Systems, one of the leaders in the production of multi-user systems, for $94 million.
In 1991, Acer engineers developed ChipUpTM technology, the license for which was acquired by Intel in 1994.
Since 1994, the company has been one of the ten largest PC suppliers in the world.
In 1997, Acer introduced a new platform called X Computer. The main goal is instead of the road universal machine present the user with several specialized devices.
In 2000, one of the production divisions was separated into an independent company, Wistron.
In December 2001, Acer announced the separation of its Acer Communications & Multimedia division into a separate company called BenQ; in 2006, Acer sold its BenQ shares.
In 2007, Acer acquired eMachines, which is sold as an independent brand.
In 2007, Acer acquired Gateway and Packard Bell.
In March 2008, it was announced that Acer was buying E-Ten Information Systems (manufacturer of Glofiish communicators, which have gained wide popularity in Russia and Ukraine). The acquisition of the company was completed in the third quarter of 2008. The transaction amount is estimated at $290 million.
In February 2009, at the Mobile World Congress exhibition in Barcelona, ​​the company presented its first product line of communicators (the company itself calls the devices smartphones), produced by the resources of the E-TEN company. The latter is clearly evidenced by two models in the line - the Acer DX900, sales of which began in Russia in December 2008 under the name Glofiish DX900 and the Acer X960, which is a regular restyling of the original glofiish X900 model.

Brand: Acer

Industry: computer equipment, electronics

Products: monitors, desktops, laptops, tablets, netbooks, projectors, smartphones, etc.

Owner company: Acer Inc

Year of foundation: 1976

Headquarters: New Taipei, Taiwan

Performance indicators

Financial performance indicatorsAcerInc., $ million

Revenue (turnover)
Gross Profit (gross income)
Operating Income (current income)					6.4 (score)
Operating Margin (current profit)
Income Before Income Taxes (profit before tax)					7.42 (score)
Net Income (net profit)					6.60 (estimate)

Source : company data, annual report

history of the company

Story Acer began in the already legendary 70s of the last century for the modern IT industry. It was then that, for example, Apple (1976) and Microsoft (1977) were formed. The history of Acer Corporation is part of the global history of the industry.

The company created by the young Taiwanese entrepreneur Stan Shih was then called differently and, admittedly, rather nondescriptly - Multitech. The starting capital was also modest (although more than Apple) - $25 thousand. The company then employed 11 people and was developing various types of content for electronic (not yet computer, of course) games that had just appeared. Nothing unusual, everything is like everyone else.

Unlike Japan (and subsequently Korea), Taiwan relied on small and medium-sized businesses. Already in the 60s, technology parks were created there, and the condition for receiving various types of benefits was the development of high-tech products. The low cost of labor (at the time described) attracted foreign capital - primarily Japanese - to locate production in Taiwan. They had to be “fed” with components, which is what numerous small companies did. Very similar to modern Russia, isn’t it? But there are also differences.

Sources describing the history of Acer in its early years contradict each other. Thus, some say that for the first five years of its existence, the future leader of the IT industry was engaged in the production of components for game manufacturers. At the same time, Russian Wikipedia indicates that already in 1979, i.e. already in the third year of its existence, Acer (then still just the future Acer) had already launched the first Taiwanese export-oriented computer on the market. Two years later, the company created the 8-bit personal computer MicroProfessor-II based on the MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor. It turns out that the small company at that time developed its own own computer, and at the same time produces components for games? Apparently yes. Sources say nothing about Acer investors, which means that the development of computers was carried out with their own funds, i.e. obtained from those same components. And computers at that time were a risky business.

A fateful, as we would say today, decision was made in 1981, when the company left the games market, completely concentrating on the production of computers. Essentially, it was a choice between a bird in the hand (components) and a pie in the sky (computer). Today we know what Stan Shea and his colleagues did, but it was not an easy choice. Let's say that Bill Gates acted differently, as evidenced by the name of his company: Microsoft. And only today, almost thirty years later, the software giant is thinking about producing hardware (it is not yet clear what it will be, perhaps mobile phones). But let's return to Acer.

In 1985, the company created the world's first 32-bit personal computer, beating IBM. Strategy further development was almost obvious: absorption. The first of the significant events in this series occurred in 1988, Acer acquired the American company Counterpoint Computers (San Jose, California), a major developer and manufacturer of mini-computers. In 1989, in the same way, the Taiwanese bought the Dutch company Kangaroo Computer B.V., which then became the basis of the production facilities of the Acer Europe division. Also in 1989, Acer and Texas Instruments, a leader in the US semiconductor industry, created a joint venture to produce memory chips. In 1990, Acer acquired Altos Computer Systems, one of the leaders in the production of multi-user systems, for $94 million.

However, the positions taken must be maintained while the market was changing before our eyes, becoming low-margin. Manufacturers' price wars cut profits significantly: if in 1988, with a sales volume of 530 million, the profit was more than 25 million, then by 1990, with a sales volume of almost a billion US dollars, the profit was only 3.6 million. In addition, a strong local the currency reduced the profitability of export operations. And Taiwan is a small island.

It was necessary not only to change the strategy, it was necessary to change the business model. However, the first such attempt was unsuccessful. The new top manager, Leonard Liu, who joined Acer from IBM, began introducing American standards into the Asian company. Result: mass layoffs, losses. In 1991, Acer, for the first time in its history, indicated a negative figure in the annual report for the “profit” column: - $22.7 million. Stan Shih resigns, but the shareholders fire not him, but Leonard Liu. Let's remember a similar story at Apple: Steve Jobs still had to leave there, only to return much later. After all, the West is the West, the East is the East.

Having received "credibility", Steve Shea acts. In a 1995 interview with Financial World, he compared Asian computer makers to Asian restaurants - it's delicious, it's everywhere, but it's completely impersonal. In contrast to the current situation, Stan Shea wants to build a computer McDonald's - a company with a strong brand and strict quality standards. This was something that had never been done at the time: instead of assembling computers in Taiwan and then transporting them to local markets, Shi shipped only components for local assembly. By comparing computer components to buns, meat and cheese, he establishes new algorithm manufacturing computers, which results in not only a dramatic reduction in logistics costs, but also a sharp increase in the level of service. Like his “ideal,” Shi not only opens his own assembly plants, but also sells franchises for the right to assemble products under the Acer brand. The analogies with fast food were so clear that Stan Shea became known as the “Ray Kroc of the PC industry.” Who is Ray Kroc? This is the man who turned a provincial roadside café of the McDonalds brothers into a global chain of fast food restaurants. Stan Shea did much the same thing in his industry: he saw a new business model and implemented it.

And within a few years he found himself face to face with serious problems. The world has changed again. The general crisis of the hi-tech industry could not bypass the Taiwanese corporation. Pan Acer Group found itself in a difficult situation in 2001 due to a combination of circumstances that, superimposed on each other, made the decline particularly rapid. As a result of the recession in the global market, corporate customers have suspended purchases of new computer and telecommunications equipment. Acer's business at that time consisted of two parts: the first direction was the production of components for IBM, Motorola, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, the second was the production of computers under its own brand. The decline in demand has hit the company's entire business.
The results of 2001 turned out to be very sad for Acer. Its revenue decreased by $1.6 billion compared to the previous year. The business of the holding's main divisions - Acer Group and Wistron Group - decreased by 20.6% and 25%, respectively. In September 2001, Acer's share price fell to almost a historical low - $22.9 per share. The foreign bankers who arranged credit lines for Acer became nervous. Stan Shea, the founder and chairman of the holding's board, has never been inclined towards centralized management. According to Western recipes for corporate governance, at the time of crisis, the concentration of all resources in one hand was required. Representatives of Western bankers turned to Lian Kuo-Shu, chairman of the board of one of the largest Taiwanese banks, Chiao Tung Bank, with a request to clarify his position regarding Acer. Kuo-Shu replied that he would not refuse to support the company. Believing that Stan Shea would be able to maintain control over the enterprise, investors were not mistaken. In 2002, Pan Acer Group quickly regained its lost positions. Its turnover for the year amounted to $12.9 billion, an increase of $3.4 billion compared to 2001.

In January 2005 Gianfranco Lanci replaced the legendary Stan Shih as president of Acer Corporation. Starting his career at Acer Italy as Managing Director, he was soon elected President of Acer EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) in 2003. In the same year, he was promoted to President of Acer Inc. OBG (Acer Business Group for Regional Development), coordinating sales and marketing activities in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North and South America. In 2008, Lanci further strengthened his position at Acer, becoming president and CEO of the company.

However, in 2011, the Italian found himself “out of the game.” The reason for his resignation was disagreements with members of the board over the course of the company’s development. The decision was made on March 31 at a meeting of the board of directors and took effect immediately. Lanci's duties were temporarily assumed by the Chairman of the Board JT Wong(J.T. Wang).

“Lanci had disagreements with the majority of Acer’s board members regarding the further development of the company,” the official statement says vaguely. In particular, disagreements arose regarding the scale of the business, the pace of development, the consumer value of goods, brand positioning and resource management.

According to industry sources, the real reason for the departure was that Acer was unable to withstand the fierce competition from Apple. By the way, this was the reason why the former head of Nokia, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, and the former head of LG Electronics, Nam Yong, resigned.

According to market participants, the appearance of the iPad tablet in 2010 had a very strong impact on the netbook sector, which, in fact, merged with the entry-level laptop sector. As a result, Acer saw no growth and introduced its own Tablet PC in November 2010. Acer is also inferior on another competitive front - the smartphone market. As a result, Gianfranco Lanci was forced to leave his post. True, the improvement of the situation is not yet noticeable: judging by the results of the 1st quarter of 2012, the indicators, albeit slightly, are deteriorating. All hope lies in choosing the right policy in relations with other participants in a very complexly configured market. Here's an example.

Recently, Acer management has already criticized Microsoft's decision to release its own Surface tablet computers on Windows 8. And today the CEO of the Taiwanese company himself issued a direct warning to Redmond residents. “We have already suggested that Microsoft rethink this. “Think twice,” said Acer CEO J.T. Wang in an interview Financial Times. “This [Surface release] will create a huge negative impact on the ecosystem, and other brands may react poorly to it.”

Microsoft has already acknowledged the likelihood of a negative reaction from its OEM partners to the appearance of tablets under its own brand on store shelves along with devices from Samsung, Asus, Acer and other companies, and noted that such competition could “affect their commitment” to the platform. Not only does Wong fully agree with Microsoft's assumption, he also believes that the Redmond people will sell partnerships for next to nothing: "This is not what you are good at," he continued, "so please think twice."

Still, it is useful to have a business partner who is able to speak without being embarrassed by his directness.

A story about the Acer company in the historical context of the separation of Taiwan from mainland China, their relationship with Japan and the USSR is possible. Presenter - Rustam Vakhidov, project "Brandyatina" of the radio station "Mayak".

For those who want to relax - 100 seconds about Acer

Love stories

I prefer Acer brand computers because I heard good feedback about them. But when I came to the computer store, I was not satisfied appearance and the price of computers of this brand. Then I turned my attention to the Emacchines laptop, which suited me in all respects. And when I bought it, I was happy to discover that this brand is a sub-brand of the Acer brand.