Acer Sets Sights On The Channel

The San Jose, Calif.-based company said it will work aggressively with distributors in a two-tiered channel business model. Among those distributors will be Advantec, D&H Distributing, Tech Data and Synnex.

As part of its kick-off, the company will conduct a 16-city road show between August and November, from Los Angeles to Philadelphia.

Acer's product line includes the TravelMate notebook, Tablet PCs, Veriton and AcerPower desktops, Altos servers, displays and optical drives.

Acer America, the U.S. unit of Taipei, Taiwan-based Acer Group, said it has established a channel program framework that works to create "a consistent experience" for solution providers. Those that apply for the Acer Authorized Reseller Program and are accepted will be eligible for new marketing funds, rebates, promotions and build-to-order fulfillment, as well as access to a gated area of Acer's reseller Web site.

Acer currently maintains a roster of 4,500 resellers in the United States, according to the company.

Joseph Carro, owner of Comco Computers, Atascadero, Calif., said although he has been an active Acer reseller in the desktop and workstation space, he has not yet been given specifics of the new program.

"I think there is a genuine market opportunity they would like to exploit with fewer computer manufacturers of desktops," Carro said.

While Carro said that Acer representatives can appear "aloof" and not as responsive as they could be with support requests, he did give the company high marks in other areas. He said he has been sourcing Acer products through distribution and gives Acer points for maintaining pricing stability and integrity,not marketing products at one suggested price while permitting retailers to vary individual pricing.

It makes it easier to sell their products when prices are consistent, Carro said.