History of the company. Acer - brand history

Acer is a Taiwanese computer hardware and electronics company. The company is ranked 487 in the Fortune Global 500 (2011).

Acer was founded by entrepreneur Stan Shih in 1976 and was originally called Multitech International. In the early 1980s, thanks to government support, the company was able to mass-assemble inexpensive IBM-compatible PCs for the first time in Taiwan and enter the international market.

In 1979, the company built the first Taiwanese computer for export.

In 1981, the company created the MicroProfessor-II 8-bit personal computer based on the MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor.

In 1985, the company built the world's first 32-bit personal computer, ahead of IBM.

In the same year, representative offices were opened in Japan and Germany, and in 1987, Acer Laboratories Incorporated, a division for the development and production of its own chipsets, was created. The next year, the entire corporation was renamed Acer (in Latin this word means “active, purposeful, smart”).

Just in 1988, there was a major breakthrough to leadership: Acer acquired the American company Counterpoint Computers (San Jose, California) - at that time a large developer and manufacturer of mini-computers. In 1989, the Dutch company Kangaroo Computer B.V. was bought by the Taiwanese in the same way, which later 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, formed a joint venture to manufacture memory chips. In 1990, for $ 94 million, Acer acquired Altos Computer Systems, one of the leaders in the production of multi-user systems. In 1991, ChipUpTM technology was developed by Acer engineers, licensed to Intel in 1994.

In 1992, the headquarters of Acer was moved to Singapore: the company grew rapidly, and this city-state had an unusually favorable business climate.

In March 1996, Acer opened an assembly plant in Finland focused on the Russian and CIS markets.

In 1997, already one of the leaders in the computer industry, Acer acquired a division of Texas Instruments, specializing in the development and marketing of portable computers.

In the same year, Acer introduced a new platform called the X Computer. The main goal is instead of expensive 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 spin-off of its Acer Communications & Multimedia division into a separate company called BenQ; in 2006, Acer sold its shares to BenQ.

In 2007, Acer acquires eMachines, which is marketed as a standalone brand.

In 2007, Acer acquires Gateway and Packard Bell.

In March 2008, it was announced that Acer was acquiring 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 deal is valued at $ 290 million.

In February 2009, at the Mobile World Congress 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 of the line - Acer DX900, sales of which began in Russia in December 2008 under the name Glofiish DX900 and Acer X960, which is a conventional restyling original model glofiish X900.

Gadget manufacturers

Today, Acer is one of the largest hardware and electronics manufacturers from Taiwan. It manufactures desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones and many other devices. In total, the company is represented in more than one hundred countries the globe.

In 1976 in Taiwan, Stan Shih, together with his wife Carolyn Yeh and other partners, founded a firm called Multitech International, which employed only eleven people.

From the very beginning, the company was going to be engaged in the supply of electronic components and consulting in the field of microprocessor technology.

However, during the early years of its founding, it developed the necessary products for game creators. Over time, Stan Shi will completely switch to the computer technology market, and will no longer deviate from the given direction.

Acer's founder's career began with the successful design and development of the first Taiwanese calculator. Within a few years, Multitech International was founded - the future global supplier of personal computers.

The initial capital of this enterprise was only 25 thousand US dollars. At the time Stan Shih left the Acer Group, the combined annual revenues of the three firms (Acer, Wistron and BenQ) exceeded $ 22 billion, but this happened much later.

He also became a member of the board of directors of all three companies, having a hand in the creation of each of them. In addition, Shi was a member of a number of social and community organizations.

The founder of Acer has received numerous awards throughout his career. Back in 1976, Stan Shih was included in the list of the ten most outstanding young people in Taiwan.

He was awarded a similar title in the early 80s, and in the late 90s - became the international leader of the year. Full list awards looks impressive enough, and it could well become a topic for a separate article.

Stan Shea - illustrative example a competent leader who achieved success at a fairly young age, and the subsequent years only strengthened his position and business. From the very beginning, he perfectly combined the qualities of a manager and the talents of an entrepreneur.

A graduate of National Jiao Tong University in Taiwan, Shi received his BA, MA, and Honorary Doctorate degrees in 1968, 1971 and 1992, respectively (Department of Electronic Engineering). He was also awarded the Honorary Doctorate of Engineering Science from Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 1997.

Subsequently, he became the first Asian CEO to receive the Thunderbird School of Management's highest honor as an honorary doctorate in international law. Stan Shih became known not only for his successful business and work on his brand, but also as the creator of unique management models, one of which clearly illustrates the viability of the global IT industry.

In 1987, the company was renamed Acer, and subsequently became world famous under this name. At the same time, the brand received support from the government, which played a significant role in its successful promotion.

This support allowed us to increase the production of low-cost computers and enter the global market.

The very first PC from Acer was called the MicroProcessor-I. A year after its release, the first 8-bit computer in Taiwan, MicroProcessor-II, appeared.

In the 80s, a subsidiary company (the future BenQ brand) was founded, a division for the development of its own microcircuits was created, and representative offices of the company were opened in Germany and Japan.

By the way, the word "acer" was borrowed from Latin and meant "impetuous", "purposeful". It perfectly reflected the process of rapid development of the digital world and the subsequent successes of the company itself in this area.

In the late 80s, a large Californian company was acquired, engaged in the development and production of mini-computers. At the same time, another important trend emerged: Acer did not seek to concentrate all available resources within one enterprise.

Instead, she actively developed subsidiaries and individual areas. For example, a fairly well-known manufacturer of computer parts and components is AOpen - a company that is practically not associated with Acer, and, nevertheless, is its subsidiary.

The same can be said about the largest manufacturer of liquid crystal matrices ALI. There are also many firms founded former employees companies. For example, former engineers of Acer stand at the origins of the well-known ASUS firm.

In 1988, the corporation received the solid name Acer Group, which is still used today. It includes three large companies.

In the 90s, the European position of the corporation is constantly strengthening. In addition to entering the US market, there is a takeover of a computer company from the Netherlands. Already in 1997, Acer became one of the leaders in the PC market.

The beginning of the XXI century was marked by a purposeful change in the structure of the company, which had a very beneficial effect on the business as a whole. In those years, the IT industry was not going through better times however, Acer managed to get out of the crisis and increase its revenues.

At the same time, they also reduced the number of labor forces. Effective marketing strategies were developed and successfully implemented that helped in the utilization of existing distribution channels.

In 2003, the company presented its own concept of the "digital home" of the future, and it happened at a press conference. Acer presented a high-tech complex system, which included five main devices: PC, LCD TV, E Box, radio and tablet.

In addition to the keyboard and wireless mouse, the PC was equipped with a control system and a remote control. Its feature also became the ability to instantly change the mode (for example, from listening to audio to watching video).

By 2005, the company employed only 7.8 thousand people. However, in just a few years, revenues have grown by over US $ 6 billion. The greatest success has been observed in the European market. Acer's market share has grown steadily.

In the mid-2000s, almost the only possible growth factor for the computer industry was the manufacture of custom laptops. This is what the company did, and it stuck to it diligently for the next few years.

While Acer's main competitors were chasing online sales and large customers, the firm itself was focused on retail consumers, preferring more traditional distribution channels.

By 2007, it became the third largest supplier of personal computers in the world, and was in second place in the production of laptops.

Acer strived to become almost the largest PC manufacturer in the world and, I must say, made very confident steps in this direction. However, customer demands were changing rapidly, and this had to be taken into account as well.

In 2008, a company called E-TEN was acquired, allowing Acer to finally enter the smartphone market. The first known line of such devices was the Tempo series.

In 2009, the X960 appeared on the Russian market. It was the first multifunctional smartphone from the Acer Tempo series under Windows control Mobile. It was very easy to operate thanks to the original animated 3D interface that looked like a desktop. There was also a special application for fast updates.

The neoTouch S200 smartphone was one of the first devices based on the Snapdragon chipset. It was also one of the first smart phones to run an OS. Windows Mobile version 6.5. Its sales began in 2009.

Every year, the demands of buyers have steadily grown, however, Acer has managed to offer interesting and unusual technical capabilities by developing new gadgets.

The Acer Liquid line of smartphones was notable for the launch of the world's first mobile device with an Ultra-HD camera. This device was already running under the Android system. The company strived to keep up with competitors in this.

The Iconia Smart smartphone with an all-metal body also worked under Android OS. Unfortunately, it turned out to have a non-standard screen resolution, and therefore not all applications were able to work correctly on it. In general, it was the Liquid line that turned out to be especially successful.

In 2010, Acer signed a memorandum of understanding and long-term partnership with Founder Technology. At the same time, according to research by analysts Gartner and IDC, Acer became the world's first supplier of laptops.

A year later, the company's specialists began to create a "cloud" software... In addition, the corporation itself became a sponsor of the Olympic Games.

Unfortunately, during this time, the Acer company did not delight its fans with the release of interesting mobile devices (not counting budget models), and market competition android gadgets was very high.

The corresponding division was practically forgotten. The situation changed when the CloudMobile S500 smartphone was announced. This happened in 2013, just after a massive reorganization, when general manager and the chairman of the board resigned due to poor performance financial activities of the company.

And this despite the fact that at that time Acer was the fourth largest producer of personal computers in the world.

What is so special about the CloudMobile S500? In addition to its excellent performance, this device has proven to be quite affordable. This time, the manufacturer focused on compactness, as well as on appearance... The smartphone has an excellent IPS-screen and a reasonable price.

It was powered by the latest generation Qualcomm processor and the best sound available on any Android device at the time.

The design turned out to be especially remarkable: original and minimalistic; metal covers on the body and rounded ends. The entire front surface was protected by solid glass, and there were no fingerprints on the back.

What are modern Acer PCs and laptops? Of course, it is very difficult to categorize them as premium equipment.

However, this, perhaps, is the beauty of the company's approach: an ordinary consumer does not need to pay extra for a logo at all famous brand, and at the same time he gets a decent quality, and the company itself - deservedly high sales.

By this criterion, Acer has noticeably bypassed many of its other competitors. Their success cannot be compared to that of Apple, and all this with great features and an affordable price. By the way, Stan Shih once said that Apple does not know how to sell inexpensive equipment, and therefore is unlikely to be able to cope with the competition.

And today, Acer's ambitions are clear, and they have every chance of becoming # 1. The company is headquartered in Taiwan, but offices and factories are distributed in many countries around the world, and they employ thousands of people.

For the past ten years, Acer Group has been among the top 5 largest PC manufacturers. In addition to computers, laptops and smartphones, the company develops and manufactures server hardware, digital devices, home media systems, displays, projectors, netbooks and tablet computers.

In terms of sales, the corporation, together with its divisions, maintains a leading position in the Asian and Latin American markets, and is also one of the leading computer manufacturers in the American and European markets.

Nevertheless, in their homeland, Acer remains the creator of the first national PC. There are many such companies in Taiwan, but none of them has been able to make a similar impact on the computer market.

The Russian market is also quite important for Acer. It's no secret that companies like Dell do not favor domestic buyers too much, but Acer is doing very differently. Customers have access to new products, and a range of products is available even in small stores. V last years the company is also active in online sales.

Brand name: Acer

Industry: computer technology, 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., $ mln


Revenue (turnover)
Gross Profit (gross income)
Operating Income					6.4 (estimate)
Operating Margin
Income Before Income Taxes					7.42 (estimate)
Net Income					6.60 (estimate)

A source : company data, annual report

history of the company

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

The company, which was created by a young Taiwanese entrepreneur Stan Shi, was then called differently and, admittedly, rather plain - Multitech. The start-up capital was also modest (although more than that of Apple) - $ 25,000. The company then employed 11 people and was engaged in the development of various kinds of fillings for the newly appeared electronic (not yet computer, of course) games. Nothing unusual, just like everyone else.

Unlike Japan (and subsequently Korea), Taiwan relied on small and medium business... Already in the 60s, technoparks were created there, and the condition for obtaining various kinds 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 was what numerous small companies did. Very similar to modern Russia, is not it? But there are also differences.

Sources describing Acer's history in the early years of its existence contradict each other. So, some say that 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 only the future Acer) had already launched the first Taiwanese export-oriented computer on the market. Two years later, the company created an 8-bit personal computer MicroProfessor-II based on the MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor. It turns out that a small company at that time developed its 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 at their own expense, i.e. received from those same components. And computers at that time were risky business.

The fateful, as we would say today, decision was made in 1981, when the company left the games market, concentrating entirely on the production of computers. In fact, it was a choice between a tit in the hands (accessories) and a crane in the sky (a computer). Today we know what Stan Shi and his colleagues did, but it was not an easy choice. Let's say that the same Bill Gates acted differently, as evidenced by the name of his company: Microsoft. And only today, almost thirty years later, the software giant started thinking about the production of "hardware" (it is not yet clear what it will be, possibly mobile phones). But back to Acer.

In 1985, the company built the world's first 32-bit personal computer, ahead of IBM. Strategy further development was almost obvious: takeovers. The first significant event in this series occurred in 1988, when Acer acquired the American company Counterpoint Computers (San Jose, California), a major developer and manufacturer of mini-computers. In 1989, the Dutch company Kangaroo Computer B.V. was bought by the Taiwanese in the same way, which later 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, formed a joint venture to manufacture memory chips. In 1990, for $ 94 million, Acer acquired Altos Computer Systems, one of the leaders in the production of multi-user systems.

However, the positions occupied must be maintained, while the market was changing before our eyes, becoming low-margin. Manufacturers' price wars cut profits at times: if in 1988, with sales of 530 million, profits were more than 25 million, then by 1990, with sales 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 had joined Acer from IBM, began to introduce American standards into the Asian company. Result: mass layoffs, losses. In 1991, for the first time in its history, Acer indicated in its annual report a negative figure for the "profit": - $ 22.7 million. Stan Shi resigns, but the shareholders fire not him, but Leonard Liu. Let's remember a similar story at Apple: there, Steve Jobs still had to leave in order to return much later. Still, the West is the West, the East is the East.

Having received a "credit of confidence", Steve Shea acts. In 1995, in an interview with Financial World, he compares Asian computer manufacturers to Asian restaurants - it's delicious, it's everywhere, but it's completely impersonal. To counter this situation, Stan Shi wants to build a computer-based McDonalds company with a strong brand and strict quality standards. No one had done this at the time: instead of assembling computers in Taiwan and then transporting them to local markets, Shi only ships parts for assembly in the field. Comparing the components of computers with buns, meat and cheese, he establishes a new algorithm for making computers, the result of which is not only a dramatic reduction in logistics costs, but also a sharp increase in the level of service. Like his "ideal", Shea not only opens his own assembly plants, but also sells franchises for the right to assemble products under the Acer brand. The fast food analogies were so transparent that Wall Shi was nicknamed "the Ray Krok of the PC industry." Who is Ray Kroc? This is the man who turned the McDonalds brothers' provincial roadside café into a global fast food chain. Stan Shi did about the same in his industry: he saw a new business model and implemented it.

And just a few years later 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 got into trouble in 2001 due to a combination of circumstances that overlapped, made the fall especially 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 - the production of components for IBM, Motorola, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, the second - the manufacture of computers under its own brand. The decline in demand hit the company's entire business.
The results of 2001 turned out to be rather bleak for Acer. Its revenue was down $ 1.6 billion from the previous year. The business of the main divisions of the holding - Acer Group and Wistron Group - decreased by 20.6% and 25%, respectively. In September 2001, the value of Acer shares fell to almost all-time lows of $ 22.9 per share. The overseas bankers who had arranged lines of credit for Acer became nervous. Stan Shih, founder and chairman of the holding, has never been inclined towards centralized management. According to Western recipes for corporate governance, at the time of the crisis, it was required to concentrate all resources in one hand. Western bankers have asked Lian Kuo-Shu, chairman of Chiao Tung Bank, one of Taiwan's largest banks, to clarify his position on Acer. Kuo-Shu replied that he would not refuse to support the company. In believing that Stan Shih would be able to maintain control of the enterprise, the investors were not mistaken. In 2002, the Pan Acer Group quickly regained its lost ground. Its turnover for the year was $ 12.9 billion, an increase of $ 3.4 billion over 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 nominated as President of Acer Inc. OBG (Acer Regional Development Business Group), coordinating sales and marketing activities in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North and South America... Lanci further consolidated his position at Acer in 2008 as President and CEO of the company.

However, in 2011, the Italian was “out of the game”. The reason for his resignation was the disagreement with the board members 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. The chairman of the board took over the duties of Lanci JT Wong(J.T. Wang).

"Lanci had disagreements with the majority of Acer's board members over the company's future development," the official statement bluntly states. In particular, disagreements arose regarding the scale of the business, the pace of development, the consumer value of goods, brand positioning and resource management.

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

According to market participants, the emergence iPad tablet 2010 had a very strong impact on the netbook sector, which essentially merged with the entry-level laptop sector. As a result, Acer saw no growth and in November 2010 introduced its own tablet PC. It is inferior to Acer on another front of the competition - the smartphone market. As a result, Gianfranco Lanci was forced to leave his post. However, the improvement of the situation is still unnoticeable: judging by the results of the 1st quarter of 2012, the indicators, albeit insignificantly, are deteriorating. All hope is for choosing the right policy in relations with other participants in a very complexly configured market. Here's an example.

Acer recently criticized Microsoft's decision to release its own Surface tablets with Windows 8. Today, the Taiwanese company's CEO himself issued a direct warning to the Redmondians. “We've already suggested that Microsoft rethink this. Think twice, said CEO Acer J.T. Wang in an interview Financial Times... "This [Surface release] will have a huge negative impact on the ecosystem, and other brands may not react well 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 others, and noted that such competition could "affect their commitment" to the platform. Not only does Wong fully agree with Microsoft's suggestion, he also believes the Redmondians will sell partnerships for next to nothing: "This is not what you are good at," he continued, "so please think twice."

It is still useful to have in business partners a person who can speak without being ashamed of his directness.

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

For those who want to relax - 100 seconds about Acer

Love stories

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

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

Now one of the most influential corporations, Acer Group originates from a small computer company Mulitech International founded by Stan Shih in 1976. A small start-up capital of $ 25,000 and a couple of dozen employees - everything is standard and very dull. However, in the early 1980s, they managed to get significant subsidies from the government and were the first to establish 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 (the first were Japan and Germany). Various divisions begin to form, in the name of which the word is already present "Acer"... Of these, special mention should be made of Acer Peripherals- in the future, it is from her that the brand will be born BenQ... It is appropriate to mention here another well-known Taiwanese company - ASUS organized by four engineers who left Acer.

The year 1988 was marked by the fact that the entire corporation changed its name to the one used today, Acer Group. "Acer" translated from Latin as "Sharp, sharp-sighted, impetuous"... However, there are other, less pleasant meanings - "Acrid, sullen, shrill", such a capacious word. In the same year, it entered the American market. For this, the company is absorbed Counterpoint computers... Further - more: European positions are strengthened through the acquisition of the Dutch Kangaroo Computer B.V. And that was just the beginning. Acer is developing rapidly, capturing new markets and absorbing other companies. In 1997, the company managed to break out into the ranks of the leaders of the computer market.

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

To date Acer Group owns four brands - itself Acer, as well as Packard Bell, Gateway and eMachines... In 2008, the entry into the smartphone market was completed - the company was acquired E-TEN... However, it was decided to abandon one more brand in order not to confuse consumers. Smartphones are produced under the brand Acer.

Computers and Laptops Acer that target different users are not prestigious. But they are inexpensive (no extra payment for a beautiful brand!) And are of good quality, which determined their well-deserved popularity in the market. In this matter, they have significantly bypassed other well-known manufacturers.

Success Acer the opposite of success Apple... No prestige, but low cost with good opportunities... By the way, the design of this product is very good. However, one cannot fail to mention about Acer ferrari- laptops belonging to the upper segment - here you have an attractive design and high performance and price as in Apple... But all the same - the overwhelming part of the production Acer is very cheap. Sten Shi himself once noted about his competitors that they simply do not know how to create and sell inexpensive equipment, and therefore cannot withstand the competition. Target Acer- first place. And the corporation has every chance to achieve it.

The headquarters of the corporation is located in Taipei, Taiwan (Taipei, Taiwan). Representatives and factories of the company are scattered all over the world and employ thousands of people. The company's products are very popular in the CIS countries.

Acer brand history

There are a lot of computer companies in Taiwan, but very few that have managed to make such a big impact on the computer market, as did Acer, which produces turnkey systems, laptops and, more recently, also smartphones. The list of manufactured products also includes projection equipment, consumer electronics and various peripherals and components.

Now one of the most influential corporations, the Acer Group traces its origins to the small computer company Mulitech International, founded by Stan Shih in 1976. A small start-up capital of $ 25,000 and a couple of dozen employees - everything is standard and very dull. However, in the early 1980s, they managed to get significant subsidies from the government and were the first to establish 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 (the first were Japan and Germany). Various divisions begin to form, in the name of which the word "acer" is already present. Of these, Acer Peripherals should be especially noted - in the future, it is from this that the BenQ brand will be born. It is appropriate to mention here 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 changed its name to the one used today, and the Acer Group appeared. "Acer" translates from Latin as "Sharp, sharp-sighted, impetuous"... However, there are other, less pleasant meanings - "Acrid, sullen, shrill", such a capacious word. In the same year, it entered the American market. For this, Counterpoint Computers is acquired. Further - more: the European position is strengthened by the acquisition of the Dutch Kangaroo Computer B.V. And that was just the beginning. Acer is growing rapidly, capturing new markets and absorbing other companies. In 1997, the company managed to break out into the ranks of the leaders of the computer market.

At the beginning of the 21st century, a major restructuring was carried out, rejuvenating the overweight company. This is how the Acer Group was born, consisting of three components - Acer, Wistron and BenQ. If such a restructuring had not been carried out promptly and quickly, 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, an entry into the smartphone market was completed - the E-TEN company was acquired. However, it was decided to abandon one more brand in order not to confuse consumers. Smartphones are manufactured under the Acer brand.

Acer computers and laptops aimed at different users are not high-profile. But they are inexpensive (no extra payment for a beautiful brand!) And are of good quality, which determined their well-deserved popularity in the market. In this matter, they have significantly bypassed 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, one cannot fail to mention the Acer Ferrari - notebooks belonging to the upper segment - here you have an attractive design and high performance and price like Apple. But all the same - the overwhelming majority of Acer products are very cheap. Sten Shi himself once noted about his competitors that they simply do not know how to create and sell inexpensive equipment, and therefore cannot withstand the competition. Acer's goal is first. And the corporation has every chance to achieve it.

Story
In 1976 Stan Shih founded Multitech International. The initial capital of the company was $ 25,000. Initially, the company employed 11 people.
In 1979, the company built the first Taiwanese computer for export.
In 1981, the company created the MicroProfessor-II 8-bit personal computer based on the MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor.
In 1985, the company built the world's first 32-bit personal computer, ahead of IBM.
Representative offices in Japan and Germany were opened.
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").
There was a major breakthrough to leadership: Acer acquired the American company Counterpoint Computers (San Jose, California) - at that time a major developer and manufacturer of mini-computers.
1989 Purchase of the Dutch company Kangaroo Computer B.V., which later became the basis of the production facilities of the Acer Europe division.
Acer and Texas Instruments, a leader in the US semiconductor industry, have formed a joint venture to manufacture memory chips.
In 1990, for $ 94 million, Acer acquired Altos Computer Systems, one of the leaders in the production of multi-user systems.
In 1991, ChipUpTM technology was developed by Acer engineers, licensed to Intel in 1994.
Since 1994, the company has been one of the ten largest PC vendors in the world.
In 1997, Acer introduced a new platform called the X Computer. The main goal is to present the user with several specialized devices instead of an expensive universal machine.
In 2000, one of the production divisions was separated into an independent company Wistron.
In December 2001, Acer announced the spin-off of its Acer Communications & Multimedia division into a separate company called BenQ; in 2006, Acer sold its shares to BenQ.
In 2007, Acer acquires eMachines, which is marketed as a standalone brand.
In 2007, Acer acquires Gateway and Packard Bell.
In March 2008, it was announced that Acer was acquiring 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 deal is valued at $ 290 million.
In February 2009, at the Mobile World Congress 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 of the line - Acer DX900, sales of which began in Russia in December 2008 under the name Glofiish DX900 and Acer X960, which is a usual restyling of the original glofiish X900 model.