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One of the precepts that govern my life is that if someone ever offers me $7 billion for any business I own, I will take the money.
It’s a rule that would have benefited the execs at Gateway. Acer recently bought the PC maker for US$710 million, but back in 1997 Compaq was ready to pay US$7 billion. The decision not to sell then was obviously a bad one.
Gateway, once a real force in the PC industry, was hit hard by the 2000 tech slide and then struggled with both frequent changes in its executive suite and disappointing sales when it diversified into consumer electronics, such as TVs, DVD players and home theatre rigs.
The purchase by Acer is a sad outcome for two reasons. First, Gateway was a fun company, and that is relatively rare. It’s computers arrived in cow-patterned boxes and it promised cheerful and friendly customer support. It’s not certain that the cow boxes will disappear but the sense of whimsy that created them is probably gone now.
The second reason is entirely personal. My first PC was a Gateway. I completely bought into the bovine packaging and the spirit of the company.
That sense of corporate fun got me to buy Gateway then and it gets me to fly WestJet now. And we need more companies that don’t take themselves too seriously.
Peter Wolchak
Posted August 31, 2007
Categories:
General
ICT Hardware and Infrastructure
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