Business Origins

Acer’s founder become born Shih Chen Jung in 1945. A shy youth, Shih blossomed at National Chiao Tung University, wherein his herbal math flair helped him graduate on the pinnacle of his class. Shih, who later westernized his given call to Stan, earned a master’s diploma in 1972 and went to paintings as a layout engineer at Qualitron Industrial Corp.

• It became now no longer long, however, earlier than the entrepreneurial worm bit Shih; in 1976, he and numerous pals based Multitech International with a $25,000 preliminary investment. The new company commenced via way of means of designing handheld digital games, then extended into the distribution of imported semiconductors. Shih renamed his organization Acer Incorporated in 1981. The call changed into derived from the Latin phrase for acute or sharp.
• The organization loved its first worldwide fulfillment that 12 months after the release of MicroProfessor, a coaching tool. The organization commenced production of PC clone computer systems and additives that had been offered to large groups with robust logo names in 1983.
• Acer is diverse vertically withinside the overdue Eighties, quickly becoming “one of the maxima vertically incorporated micro-pc producers withinside the world,” in accordance to Los Angeles Business Journal.

Acer went public in 1988, having chalked up a common annual boom of one hundred percentage from 1976 to 1988. In 1988, internet income totaled greater than $25 million.

Early Nineties Setbacks

The past due Eighties introduced inner and outside modifications that had a devastating impact on Acer. The inner issues had been absolutely unexpected. In 1989, Shih employed Leonard Liu far from a 20-yr profession with International Business Machines Corp.

(IBM), making him president of the Acer organization and chairman and leader government officer of Acer America Corp. His offputting technique has been blamed for a control exodus withinside the early Nineteen Nineties.

• At the identical time, the pc enterprise quickly matured, transferring from an excessive income margin enterprise to a low margin commodity nearly overnight. Price wars drove aspect expenses down so rapidly, and a robust New Taiwan greenback made the country’s items so pricey, that it has become tough to make an income on the completed product.
• Acer’s income rose from $530.nine million in 1988 to $977 million through 1990, however its earnings dropped from $26.five million to $3.6 million at some stage in the identical period. In 1991, Acer published its first-ever annual loss, $22.7 million.
• More than $20 million of that shortfall got here from Acer America, which had struggled due to the fact its inception. Acer’s inventory dropped to 50 percent of its preliminary public imparting price. Shih needed to promote Acer’s headquarters to make an income in 1992.

New Methods Pace Mid-Nineties Turnaround

In a 1995 Financial World article, Shih in comparison Taiwanese pc production to Chinese restaurants, pronouncing that “Chinese meals are good, and it’s miles everywhere, however it has no uniform international photo or steady first-class.

The equal became real of private computer systems; even though maximum have been made in Taiwan, they have been offered below numerous (generally American and Japanese) brands, with various tiers of first-class.

Shih desired Acer to be extra like McDonald’s, the critical rapid meals eating place that boasted a robust emblem photograph and strict excellent standards.

• This specific paradigm shift required an entire overhaul of Acer’s manufacturing and distribution scheme. Instead of assembling computer systems in Taiwan, because it had achieved for extra than a decade, the organization started out to deliver additives to 32 places around the arena for meetings.
• Shih in comparison pc additives which include casings, keyboards, and mice to such staples as ketchup and mustard that might be shipped slowly and saved indefinitely. He likened the motherboard, which needed to have the “freshest” era possible, to the beef in a sandwich. It become shipped through the air from Taiwan to every meeting operation.
• Finally, Shih in comparison the CPU and tough force to “very high-priced cheese: we strive to supply them locally.” Shih’s adoption of this specific approach earned him the nickname “the Ray Kroc of the PC commercial enterprise.”

Company Perspectives:

Acer ranks the various world’s pinnacle 5 branded PC vendors, designing and advertising and marketing easy, reliable IT answers that empower human beings to attain their dreams and decorate their lives.

• This manufacturing scheme stored on transport charges and enabled Acer to consist of the maximum up-to-date (Shih favored to name it the “freshest”) generation available. In Acer-speak, “fresh” supposed innovative.
• Not content material to depend on low cease knockoffs of different agencies’ era, Acer stayed abreast of the enterprise’s brand new developments. In 1992, it released a multi-consumer UNIX device in addition to 386- and 486-primarily based totally PCs.
• That yr additionally noticed the creation of a global carrier and help network, a critical detail of any successful PC enterprise withinside the Nineteen Nineties. In 1993, Acer unveiled a brand new PC that got here ready with a RISC (decreased instruction-set computing) chip and Microsoft’s maximum latest model of the Windows running device.
• Shih was hoping to convey the “rapid meals” idea all of the manners to the retail level, in order that clients should custom-order computer systems with peripherals and reminiscence potential particularly suitable to their needs. Acer examined this idea at an enterprise-owned retail keep in Taipei.
• It appeared to be as near as Acer should come to McDonald’s-fashion carrier: most effective hours handed from the time a device became ordered to the time it becomes booted.