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Tag: PC Market

  • Acer CEO Resigns, Layoffs Announced

    Acer is one of the top worldwide PC brands, but that hasn’t insulated the company from the recent downturn in the PC market caused by the growth of mobile technologies. Acer this week announced major changes to its executive structure and a restructuring plan that includes massive layoffs.

    Acer Chairman and CEO J.T. Wang has announced he will be stepping down as the company’s CEO. He will also be resigning his chairmanship sometime in June 2014. Acer President Jim Wong will take over the CEO position starting January 1, 2014.

    “Acer encountered many complicated and harsh challenges in the past few years. With the consecutive poor financial results, it is time for me to hand over the responsibility to a new leadership team to path the way for a new era,” said Wang. “Together with the management team, we have crafted a far-reaching plan for Acer’s transformation. I wish to thank the board members for their support and to Jim for assuming the CEO duties. I feel optimistic toward Acer’s future.”

    In addition to the management changes, Acer has announced its intention to under go a massive restructuring effort. Board member Stan Shih and Acer co-founder George Huang will lead a committee to formulate the restructuring plan, which Acer stated could change its “company vision, strategy, and execution plans.”

    Current restructuring plans include layoffs and product plan terminations. The plan terminations are expected to cost the company $150 million in the upcoming quarter. The layoffs, which are predicted to affect 7% of Acer employees worldwide, are predicted to save the company $100 million per year.

    “After making structural adjustments, we will introduce more competitive products within the existing PC, tablet, and smartphone business and stabilize our market share,” said Shih. “This will be the basis of our transformation and for developing new business opportunities.”

    (Image courtesy Acer)

  • PC Sales Could Pick Up Again, Say Analysts

    PC Sales Could Pick Up Again, Say Analysts

    Following a disappointing holiday season, PC sales have been on the decline for the first half of 2013. Even the release of a new Windows operating system wasn’t enough to buoy sales of traditional PCs. The prevailing opinion is that smartphones and tablets have stolen a large chunk of the PC market, and will continue to do so. However, one analyst firm is now going against the crowd and predicting that PC sales could pick up in the near future.

    Strategy Analytics this week released the results of its recent “Home Computing Devices: Purchase Intention Index Q2 2013” survey. The survey asked over 6,000 Americans and Europeans what their PC buying intentions were for the coming year. Almost 23% of survey respondents said they were “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to purchase “portable PC” within the next year – an increase from the 17% the survey found the previous year.

    “The PC market has suffered for some time from falling sales and increasing competition from tablets,” said Jia Wu, director of Connected Home Devices at Strategy Analytics. “But our survey findings suggest that consumers are still ready and willing to buy PCs when their personal finances begin to improve.”

    Strategy Analytics, rather than blaming tablets for all of the downturn in the PC market, is seeing the downturn in the economy in the past half-decade as a major factor as well. The survey found that U.S. consumers’ “intention index” for buying notebook PCs has increased over 10% since 2012’s holiday season, and increased over 11% for buying desktop PCs.

    “There has been much talk about the threat to PCs from surging demand for tablets,” said David Mercer, principal analyst at Strategy Analytics. “But this evidence suggests that many consumers are putting home computers back on the shopping list now that the economic outlook is improving.”

  • Windows 8 Viewed Negatively by Suppliers, Says Analyst

    Though today’s commercial shows a fun and highly usable experience, much criticism has been hurled toward Microsoft’s upcoming operating system, Windows 8. As a tablet interface, the OS does look very well-designed. Add a mouse and keyboard, however, and the UI simply confuses people who have been using Windows for years.

    Today, even more worries are being aired over the OS, this time from supply chain vendors in Asia. Business Insider quotes a Topeka Capital analyst as saying suppliers are beginning to worry about the near future of the PC market.

    “The sentiment around Windows 8 was overwhelmingly negative during our trip as the supply chain experiencing little life ahead of the October 26 launch,” said the analyst, Brian White.

    He goes on to say that he was warned of “idle facilities in December” and that a surge from Windows 8 is not expected until the second half of 2013. His prediction is that the PC market will have a “muted” December quarter and will not see the boost many were expecting from the plethora of new Windows 8 devices.

    This could come as a disappointment for both Microsoft and its partners, who have begun to bank heavily on the multi-platform ecosystem the company is trying to establish with Windows 8. HP, Samsung, Dell, and other manufacturers have announced PCs, laptops, ultrabooks, tablets, and laptop/tablet hybrids that will launch alongside Windows 8 on October 26.