Acer Inc. (/ˈeɪsər/; Chinese: 宏碁股份有限公司; pinyin: Hóngqi Gǔfèn Yǒuxiàn Gōngsī, lit. Hongqi Corporation) (stylized as acer, or formerly as acer) is a Taiwanese multinational hardware and electronics corporation specializing 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, displays, LED, LCD and plasma televisions, smartphones and peripherals. It also provides e-business services to businesses, governments and consumers. In 2014 Acer was the fourth-largest personal computer vendor in the world. 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. In addition to its core business, Acer owns the largest franchised computer retail chain in Taipei, Taiwan.
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.
Growth and netbook raise
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 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.
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. 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. But such a reliance on the high-volume, low-value PC market made Acer exposed when buying habits changed.
2013 re-organization
On 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's 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. 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. Entertainment industry executive and former actress Nancy Hu was named CFO and Spokesperson as of May 1, 2014.
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