DIGITIMES: Acer CEO Jason Chen has claimed that the UK’s departure from the EU will weaken demand in the Europe market because of weakened consumer confidence and exchange rate fluctuations. However, how serious the impact may be remains to be seen, he said.
The outcome of the UK vote has already created immediate impacts on exchange rates, and Acer will work to avoid the impacts from the changes of the currency exchange rates, Chen said
Acer is also the largest monitor vendor in the US, the second largest in Europe and the third largest in Asia Pacific.
As for the high-end monitor segment, Acer has a 40% market share in Western Europe, over 30% in the US. The company’s all-in-one PCs also enjoy strong sales via the US-based Amazon channel which is tipped to be launched in Australia next year.
Since Acer has over 30% of its revenues from Europe, Chen expects the referendum to affect Acer’s operation in the region and the company has already seen some impacts from the exchange fluctuations.
Chen pointed out that Acer will try to strengthen its operation, looking to minimize the impact from the changes. Acer has strong brand recognition in Europe, but the company will still need to add more value on products it offers.
Last week Acer chairman George Huang has said the company’s new business development is heading to the right direction and has achieved breakthroughs in areas including virtual reality (VR), medical care and robots. However, the company’s transformation will still need some more time to be completed.
Although the PC market is in decline, Acer continues achieving strong results in 2-in-1 device and Chromebook markets and will continue to invest efforts in them.
Huang noted that Acer’s operation was seriously affected by exchange rate fluctuations in 2015, during which the PC market was not doing well. However, thanks to the company’s strategy changes, Acer managed to stay profitable in 2015.
Acer has been transforming its business and is turning to focus on new market segments such as those of mobile, cloud computing and Internet of Things (IoT).
Acer CEO Jason Chen also noted that most of Acer’s revenues are from the PC business. Since the PC market is in decline, Acer is focusing more on areas that offer better profit growth opportunities.
