More than seven years after pulling out of the Australian market, Gateway PC — the brand with the cow-themed logo — will return to Australia on 15 August with a range of notebooks targeted at fashion-conscious consumers.
The brand will be re-launched by Acer Computer Australia, which acquired Gateway PC in August 2007.
On 15 August, Gateway will release four different notebook lines, ranging in price between $1099 and $3999. An 11.6in netbook priced at $899 will also be released. All notebooks will come with a 1-year return-to-base warranty and come in a variety of hardware configurations. Gateway also plans to release a range of desktop PCs around the launch of Windows 7 on 22 October.
The launch will coincide with an advertising campaign for Gateway using the slogan "No Bull$#!% We're Back." The notebooks will initially be available in Harvey Norman as well as some smaller independent resellers. Acer plans to expand Gateway's reach through a second major retailer to be announced at a later date.
Gateway pulled out of the Australian market more than seven years ago in order to consolidate its business in the United States (the company's headquarters) during 2001 and 2002.
Gateway's relaunch in Australia is part of Acer's global "multi-brand" strategy that's designed to appeal to six consumer segments, ranging from the tech-savvy to "no frills" buyers. The Acer brand itself — including its recent Aspire Timeline range of notebooks — is targeted at technologically competent customers. Gateway, on the other hand, has a particular focus on design and is targeted more towards fashion-conscious consumers.
A third branch of Acer's strategy is eMachines, which was owned by Gateway prior to Acer's acquisition and is currently available in Australia through K-Mart. eMachines offers low-cost desktop PCs that are aimed at "budget-oriented users who desire maximum value for money".
Packard Bell, acquired by Acer in January 2008, will not make it to Australia as a specific brand. A spokesperson for Acer said that its "multi-brand" strategy in Australia positioned the computer manufacturer to reach 80 per cent of the PC market.
According to sales figures from IDC, Acer Computer Australia is currently the number three total PC vendor in Australia, and the number two total notebook vendor. Nigel Gore, general manager of Gateway, said today that the relaunch of Gateway and introduction of eMachines into the Australian market was part of a strategy to become the number two PC vendor in the local market. That position is currently held by Dell, with HP in the number one slot.
“The introduction of Gateway into the Australian market is an important milestone for Acer Computer Australia’s history,” Nigel Gore said in a press release regarding the brand's launch. “The Gateway brand will be an excellent addition to Acer’s already strong position. We believe that our combined scale will lead to significant efficiencies and will help reach our current goal of becoming number two PC vendor within Australia.”
