Acer Takes a Hit With Lanci Leaving 宏基痛失兰奇

I was quite surprised to read reports today that Acer (Taipei: 2353) CEO Gianfranco Lanci has resigned over differences with the company about strategic direction. (English report; Chinese report). His departure comes amid a recent downturn for Acer, which shot to stardom under the leadership of Lanci and Taiwanese Chairman J.T. Wang, who made a potent pair by focusing on mid to lower end, consumer PCs with a special attention to notebooks that now dominate the market. While Wang came from an engineering background, Lanci brought much of the marketing savvy that helped the company become Europe’s notebook leader 3 or 4 years ago, and i suspect he was also a key player in the company’s successful acquisition strategy. My big concern is that with Lanci gone, Acer will go back to being a very Taiwanese company focused on gaining market share at any costs, very likely to the company’s detriment.

Bottom line: Gianfranco Lanci’s sudden resignation as Acer CEO marks the beginning of a downward spiral for the company, similar to the downturn that almost killed it a decade ago.

宏基<2353.TW>执行长兰奇(Gianfranco Lanci)离职，令我意外的是，今日读到报导说兰奇辞职是由於在公司战略方向上的分歧。宏基以往在兰奇和董事长王振堂的带领下，专注于中低端个人电脑，尤其侧重於笔记本电脑。王振堂有工程专业背景，而兰奇则颇具营销智慧，带领宏基成为欧洲笔记本电脑市场领先者。我猜兰奇也为宏基成功的收购战略作出了重大贡献。而随着兰奇的离开，或许宏基会重新还原成一家典型的台湾公司，不计代价争夺市场份额，这不利於宏基发展。

一句话：兰奇的突然离职等于宏基新衰退时期的开头，类似于十年前的衰退时期。