"With weaker European and US sales, Acer said in late March that up to that time PC sales in the first quarter were 10 percent lower than the previous quarter"
Nicole this trend of drop in PC sales is specific to ACER ? or is it the start of the end of PC-era ?
Certainly, Acer’s weaker PC sales in European and the U.S. at the end of last year do indicate that tablet sales had a negative effect on Acer’s PC sales, but it might be too extreme to say that this is the beginning of the end of PCs. In the next 18 months, when more tablets come onto the market, we’ll get a better picture of how strong the PC market is as it faces greater competition from newly introduced tablets.
Its too early to expect the end of PC and PC will still be around for a much pretty time but then with the introduction of the tablets, we should expect a drop in sales for PC. I feel the tablets still can not yet satisfy us yet without having a PC along side with them. Time will make a difference between PC and Tablets
I agree that Acer's strategy leaves much to be desired. And from a branding standpoint, I think the Packard Bell, eMachines, and Gateway brands should be eliminated completely: I really don't feel they have that much value at this point; they're all brands I associate with sub-par 90's desktops.
I think Acer makes a solid laptop and they've fairly well in that space. I think their tablets are doomed and they would have been better off sitting out and focusing on improving their existing offerings. Now maybe as a compromise they could have marketed a netbook with a removable "tablet" screen or something, but I believe they have no chance of competing with "me too" products in an already crowded tablet market.
However, despite all the issues, I am optimistic: they're still in second place and perhaps a shake-up and some new leadership and direction is exactly what the company needs right now.
This is a crucial time for Acer, but I'm rooting for them. I hope things work out, because otherwise they'll be swallowed up by Dell or HP much like they absorbed Packard Bell, eMachines, and Gateway.
DennisQ: I agree with you on that.Acer needs to stir up creativity, look inward, study the market trends and come out with something captivating and new to move up in their market status.
I’m happy that you are optimistic about Acer’s future.Remember, Apple had to invent a new line of products, but then it has Steve Jobs at the helm.The next Acer CEO has to be brilliant at reading theconsumer market and satisfying their tech needs.By the way, today’s news is that Consumer Reports ranked Apple's iPad 2 the best tablet on the market.Acer has a tough road ahead.
To you and Adeniji Kayode, thanks for your comments.
@The Source, actually I disagree with you somewhat on your opinion that, "The next Acer CEO has to be brilliant at reading the consumer market and satisfying their tech needs" and that "Acer has a tough road ahead."
Acer does indeed need to have a CEO brilliant at reading the consumer market and satisfying their lust for new gadgets and they do have a tough road ahead... if they intend on competing with Apple.
But I'm of the opinion that they do not need and indeed should not even attempt to compete with Apple: first of all, they'll never beat Apple at their own game, and second of all, it doesn't really make any sense to even pursue such a path. In my opinion trying to go heads-up with Apple would be dumbest possible strategy to pursue, actually. They don't need to worry about trying to make a better tablet than Apple, at all.
What Acer needs to do is focus on what they do best, which is providing quality laptops, netbooks, and desktops in the low-to-mid-range price points. The casual/non-techie-type market is huge, and this is exactly where Acer needs to continue to focus.
Their target audience is not techies and gadget lovers. It's people who just want a cheap computer that works well.
Acer didn't get to be number 2 by selling to people like us.
If you are right, and Acer should not even consider developing tablets to compete with Apple, then why was Lanci fired in the first place.Acer has already said that it is getting into the tablet market precisely to compete with Apple, and it seems that the company was not pleased with Lanci's lack of planning with regard to a tablet strategy. This brings me to my next point which is why are you so optimistic about Acer?I think that the tablet market is one possible area of revenue generation, but Acer needs to develop other areas of business and enter different markets such as software and services etc.That’s what HP and Dell have been doing.
By the way, your thoughts are definitely worth more than two cents.
It looks like Acer is behind on the market because its top level management did not share a succinct clear vision. Things come to a screeching halt when there is different strategic opinions running the company. Perhaps the CEO stepping down in the first step in recovery.
If Acer is still trying to figure out their directions, tablets that are meant to compete with the iPAD are not the way to go. I doubt that they will gain momentum since they are so far behind. I agree that they need to develop a new strategy and not just try to compete in the existing markets in which they do not even currently participate.
"eMachines, and Gateway brands should be eliminated completely: I really don't feel they have that much value at this point; they're all brands I associate with sub-par 90's desktops."
You are right in pointing out that the key to competition is innovation. You can't just win on lowering prices. With regard to tablets, where Acer says it wants to be a contender, it's obvious that the company didn't produce a tablet fast enough. When their tablet comes out later in the year, we will see what their sales are like.
Thanks for reading my article, and for your thoughts on Acer.
Probably Acer should follow others by strategize acquisitions as well as driving more innovation. As a consumer we can't really see what make Acer computer different from other brands still.
Well sometimes, a certain kind of change needs totally new leadership, not because the old are bad, but a change is just needed.
Maybe a change in business strategy, maybe a new marketting strategy, but i don't think their lack of diversity is their problem
How diverse is Apple's product range? If we think apple, we can only think iPAD, iPOD, iPHONE and that is pratically all they have, appart from numerous accesories which work with these three.
Acer just needs to find its place and dominate it, whatever it is.
Acer unfortunately suffers from being a brand that is more closely associated with low-cost laptops than with the premium devices required to significantly expand its profit margins. They also dropped the ball by lacking vision and innovation and have allowed other companies, like Apple, to secure themselves in the tablet pc market.
The new CEO of Acer will have to be someone willing to think outisde the box by creating a high-end line of products and strategically placing itself at the front of the line with the next big "fad" in computer technology.
Thanks a lot for this informative article Nicole. Great job!!
If they think Premium, ther're going to have an uphill battle specifically due to the point you mentioned regarding Acer being known as the 'cheap brand'.
Imagine the marketing and product superiority they will have to exude in order to get consumers to break the old perception and now see them as a real player (ie. competing with the Apple's & Samsung's of the world).
I think Acer put (all/most/some) of its eggs in the netbook industry, which IMHO had a lot of potential until... well... the iPad came along and the whole tablet wave came along.
Do I think the netbook industry has room to exist? umm... I really haven't made my mind. It probably has a very limited room for people that really, really need a keyboard but how else can it differentiate them from tablets?
@Adeniji, i strongly agreed with you on that. Acer may find it difficult to compete well but fact remains that it will get going. Motivation is what gets you stated, habit that keeps you going.
Global population getting near 7billion, and more people are more fascinated with technologies and modern gadgets - Acer has already made a portion for its products in world market, with already established fanbase. I think this will set to continue with its tablet computer launching.
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