Acer Inc. is a Taiwanese multinational company that produces computer hardware and electronics, headquartered in Xizhi District, New Taipei City, Taiwan. Its products include desktop PCs, laptop PCs (clamshells, 2-in-1s, convertibles and Chromebooks), tablets, servers, storage devices, virtual reality devices, displays, smartphones, televisions and peripherals, as well as gaming PCs and accessories under its Predator brand. As of 2024, Acer is the world's sixth-largest personal computer vendor by unit sales.[4]
Founded in 1976 as Multitech Electronics Inc., 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.[5] Currently, in addition to its core IT products business, Acer also has a new business entity that focuses on the integration of cloud services and platforms, and the development of smartphones and wearable devices with value-added IoT applications.[6]
History
Acer was founded as Multitech in 1976 by Stan Shih, his wife Carolyn Yeh, and five others in Hsinchu City, Taiwan. The company 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.
In 1998, Acer reorganized into five groups: Acer International Service Group, Acer Sertek Service Group, Acer Semiconductor Group, Acer Information Products Group, and Acer Peripherals Group. To dispel complaints from clients that Acer competed with its own products and to alleviate the competitive nature of the branded sales versus contract manufacturing businesses, the company spun off the contract business in 2000, renaming it Wistron Corporation. The restructuring resulted in two primary units: brand name sales and contract manufacturing. In 2001, the company sold its manufacturing units BenQ and Wistron in order to focus resources on design and sales.
Acer increased worldwide sales while simultaneously reducing its labor force by identifying and using marketing strategies that best utilized its existing distribution channels. In January 2005 Gianfranco Lanci became the president.[7] By 2005, Acer employed a scant 7,800 people worldwide.
Corporate affairs
Business trends
The key trends for Acer are (as of the financial year ending December 31):[21]
Acquisitions and joint ventures
- In 1988, Acer acquired Counterpoint Computers.[24]
- In 1990, Acer acquired Altos Computer Corporation.[25]
- In 1993, Acer acquired the PC division of Commodore International.[26]
- In 1997, Acer acquired Texas Instruments notebook computer business.
- On 27 August 2007, Acer announced plans to acquire its US-based rival Gateway Inc. for US$710 million. Acer's former chairman, J.T. Wang, stated that the acquisition completed Acer's "global footprint, by strengthening [its] United States presence".
Operations
As of September 2022, Acer has over 7,713 employees worldwide, operating in 40 countries/territories.[40]
Australia
Acer Computer Australia (ACA) was established in 1990, and is currently Australia's third-largest personal computer vendor, behind Hewlett-Packard Australia and Dell Australia and New Zealand. ACA has Australia's highest overall market share in notebook PC and tablet PC sales. The company is also Australia's leading PC vendor in the government and education markets. As of 2006, it has over 480 employees.
The company repairs, assembles and manufacturers laptops and desktops in Sydney.[41][42]
Europe
Notable product lines
- Acer Extensa series – Business-oriented laptops
- Acer Iconia – A series of tablet computers
- Acer Aspire – Budget to entry level personal-use computer and laptops aimed for casual household use
- Acer TravelMate – Lightweight business-oriented laptops
- Acer Nitro – Acer's entry to mid-end gaming-oriented laptops and handheld PC
- Acer Predator – Acer's mid to high-end gaming laptops and desktops
- Acer Aspire One – Acer's mid to high-end personal-use laptop
- Acer Swift – A series of mid to high-end ultra-portable notebooks
- Acer Spin – A series of budget to mid-end two-in-one laptops
- Acer ConceptD – Desktop and laptops designed for
Brands
- Aazar
- eMachines
- ProPack
- Gateway
- Packard Bell
- Pawbo
- Predator
- Xplova
- Nitro
- AcerPure
Logos
Corporate social responsibility
In 2005, Acer published its first environmental report, for which the company used the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines. All of Acer's tier-one suppliers have acquired ISO 14001 certification.[46]
In November 2012, Acer was ranked 4th place out of 15 in Greenpeace's re-launched Guide to Greener Electronics, with a score of 5.1 points out of 10. The Guide ranks electronics makers according to their policies and practices to reduce their impact on the climate, produce greener products, and make their operations more sustainable.[47]
Greenpeace criticized the company for not setting out targets to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as intended in 2010 and for not providing external verification for the GHG emissions it reports for its operations and business travel. It also scored badly on the products criteria receiving no points on product lifecycle while Greenpeace noted that a higher percentage of its products need to meet or exceed Energy Star standards in order for it to score more points.[47]
It received some praise for launching new products which are free from
Sponsorships
- Acer sponsored the BAR-Honda Formula One racing team in the year .[50] In, Acer provided sponsorship to the Prost Grand Prix Formula One team, and the team's Ferrari engines were badged as Acers.
- Acer sponsored the Ferrari Formula 1 team from 2003 up to 2012 (Official Supplier since 2006) and its Top Sponsor of FC Internazionale – Milano (Inter Milan) Football Club. From 2007 to 2009 Acer has been Official Supplier of FC Barcelona.[51] On 19 March 2007, Acer announced it would sponsor the Factory Fiat Yamaha Team for the 2007 MotoGP World Championship season. Since 2009, Packard Bell (part of Acer Group) has been the sponsor of the Yamaha Factory Racing Team.[52]
- Acer was the worldwide TOP Partners for both the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games and Singapore Youth Olympic Games. Acer was TOP Partner of the London 2012 Summer Olympics.
Awards
In October 2024, Acer Poland received the Kotler Awards Poland in the Small Company category (up to 50 employees) and in the Consumer Brand category; the awards were announced during the European Forum for New Ideas (EFNI) in Sopot.[55][56][57][58]
Controversy
During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Acer refused to join the international community and withdraw from the Russian market. Research from Yale University from 28 March 2022, identifying how companies were reacting to Russia's aggression, identified Acer in the worst category "Digging in", meaning Defying Demands for Exit: companies defying demands for exit/reduction of activities.[59] Acer subsequently reversed its decision and suspended business in Russia.[60] Despite stating that it would suspend business in Russia, a Reuters investigation of customs data found that Acer supplied at least $70.4 million worth of computer hardware to Russia between 8 April 2022 and 31 March 2023 through Acer's wholly owned Swiss-registered subsidiary. Since the shipments occurred outside Taiwan, they did not violate Taiwanese sanctions against Russia.[61]
See also
- Acer Chromebook Tab 10
- Acer Value Line
- ASUS, a rival Taiwan-based company started in 1989 by former Acer engineers
- E-TEN
- eMachines, Acer subsidiary, 2007–2013
- Packard Bell, Acer subsidiary, 2007–2015
- Gateway Inc., Acer subsidiary since 2007
- BenQ, formerly Acer CM
- AOpen
- List of companies of Taiwan
- Microprofessor I, Acer's first product
Sources
External links
References
- Staff Structure Acer, retrieved August 19, 2025^
- 2020 Acer Annual Report retrieved 2022-02-02^
- Forbes Global 2000 #1131: Acer Fortune, April 2016, retrieved 14 July 2016