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Acer founder says company needs an overhaul

Updated Dec 19th, 2018 7:08PM EST
BGR

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Acer founder Stan Shih on Tuesday said the company needs to overhaul its operations in order to stay competitive with the changing market. Shih’s comments, which were made at a National Culture and Arts Foundation event in Taiwan, were a response to news that Acer had lowered its first-quarter guidance. Acer said that declining demand in the U.S. and Europe due to the rapid growth of the consumer tablet market would result in a 10% drop in sales for the first quarter. Shih believes that Acer should overhaul its operations and focus on increasing profit margins rather than becoming a leader in the global PC market. Acer noted on Tuesday that its net profit margin is expected to drop below 2% in the first quarter from 2.93% in the previous quarter. Shih, who retired from his role as head of Acer in 2004 after founding the company in 1976 and building it into the largest computer company in Taiwan, said significant overhauls are commonplace at Acer. The company founder said that in the past, Acer has undergone an overhaul every 10 years or so in an effort to adapt to changes in the global market.

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