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Acer Tipped To Be A Survivor, As Chairman Slams Departing Manager Responsible For OZ

Acer Tipped To Be A Survivor, As Chairman Slams Departing Manager Responsible For OZ

They have also taken a pot shot at Lenovo who they have accused of trying to bolster their numbers with giveaway promotions. 

Acer founder Stan Shih said that Acer and Asustek will not die due to both Companies having lower manufacturing overheads compared to the likes of Toshiba who have  
already made moves to pull out of several global PC markets. 

 IDC claims that at least two vendors will disappear due to unbearable operating losses Toshiba, Samsung Electronics and Fujitsu are among those tipped to go. 

Samsung and Sony have already pulled out of the Australian market. 

Acer achieved net profits of US$5.84 million in the third quarter, the results were a lot higher than those of the previous quarter.

Shih said that Acer’s third-quarter profits were seriously impacted by competitors’ buy-two-get-one-free promotions and Acer also chose to focus on digesting inventory in the  
quarter, knowing it would gain profits from exchange rates.

Shih pointed out that Lenovo is currently trying to push its notebook shipments and market share, but such a strategy is at the expense of the company’s profitability. 

Acer used to adopt a similar strategy, but the price is too high and with the notebook market shrinking, such a strategy is not necessary, Shih said.

Shih said that Asustek suffered exchange losses in the third quarter he said that the Company is capable of bearing the losses.

Late last week the Acer executive who controlled the Asia Pacific operations of the Taiwanese Company quit. 

The direct report for Darren Simmons the CEO of Acer Australia, Oliver Ahrens, who was responsible for the Australian and New Zealand operations of Acer appears to have 

had a falling out with Acer management in Taiwan.

Aherns is tipped to be joining Lenovo. 

In an unusual comment Acer founder Stan Shih said that Ahrens had difficulty fitting in with the company culture, and the departure should have a positive influence on the 

company.

Shih pointed out that Acer is not worried about losing talent, since a flow of talent is natural in the IT industry. 

Ahrens who was one of only a few westerners in a senior Acer management role was responsible for taking Acer to #2 in the European market before moving to China to 

manage the Asia Pacific region. 

Shih claims Acer is currently in the process of transformation and will need to enhance its human resources.

As for the question of whether Ahrens’ departure was related to Acer’s third-quarter financial report or his wages, Shih said that the issue has nothing to do with financial  
performance, but he did not directly respond to the wage part and only said that wages need to be adjusted along with the company’s performance in order to be fair to the  
company.

Shih said that he believes Ahrens’ departure will create more opportunities for young people, and should also boost the company’s morale.