Acer and Dell: One Cuts, One Pastes 宏基裁人、戴尔建厂

There’re some interesting items out there on the latest China moves by two of the world’s top PC makers, Acer (Taipei: 2353) and Dell (Nasdaq: DELL). First Acer, the more dynamic of the two. It should come as no surprise to anyone that Chinese media are reporting that Acer has cut 10 percent of its China staff, nearly all of it from its “tie-up” with (aka takeover of) Founder’s PC business (Chinese report). This kind of hatchet job is exactly what Acer did when it bought Gateway’s PC business in the US, i.e. it bought the company for its name and distribution channels and then quickly dismantled the rest of it. That strategy seemed to work quite well in the US, so I suspect it could work equally well in China. Now Dell. It seems Michael Dell was in town for the ground-breaking of a new plant — Dell’s second in China — in Chengdu. (English article) I suppose this move shows Dell’s commitment to China’s hinterland, which of course is what Beijing wants as it tries to develop less affluent coastal areas. In an interview with China Daily, Michael Dell also said his company is shifting its China focus from the highly competitive consumer space back to the enterprise sector which made Dell so successful in the first place. Smart move, Michael.

Bottom line: Acer and Dell are both making important shifts in their China strategies that could help them steal share from market leader Lenovo (HKEx: 992)

两家全球主要PC厂商，宏基<2353.TW>和戴尔<DELL.O>，最近在中国市场都有些引人注目的动作。首 先，中国媒体报 道宏基将其中国员工裁减10%，且几乎全是此前宏基”整合”方正PC业务所接收的前方正员工。对宏基来说，这不过是重施故伎–宏基在美国收购了 Gateway的PC业务之後，也实施了类似的裁员。实际上，宏基买的就是品牌和销售渠道，到手之後立刻把其他不要的部分砍掉。这招在美国奏效了，在中国 恐怕也同样有效。再说戴尔。创始人迈克·戴尔又来中国了，为在华第二家工厂奠基，厂址在成都。在与《中国日报》的采访中，戴尔说将把业务重点由竞争激烈的个人电脑领域转向企业客户。毕竟，这是戴尔的起家之本。

一句话：宏基与戴尔都在调整在华战略，希望夺取市场老大联想的份额。