CRN Interview: J.T. Wang, Chairman and CEO, Acer Group

Acer may be one of the top PC brands in much of the world, but that success so far has eluded the hardware vendor in the United States. Acer Group Chairman and CEO J.T. Wang recently talked to Senior Editor Joseph F. Kovar in Taipei, Taiwan, about Acer's U.S. plans and the importance of the channel in helping the company succeed.

CRN: How is Acer's U.S. market?

Wang: The United States is a very, very strategic market. This year, we'll be able to do about $1 billion, with a very, very small profit.

We've started to think about how to reach $3 billion in the near future. $1 billion helps us to build up confidence. Acer lost a fortune in the last 10 years, and we really got damaged and considered the United States as a place of sorrow.

So this time, we are very, very cautious. We have a well-designed business plan. We are able to do very good execution. We are gaining confidence.

CRN: What are you doing differently?

Wang: In the past, we just considered everything from the manufacturing [point of view]: If you do more quantity, your profit is going to be better. This time, we don't do that, because we don't have any manufacturing at all. So we studied the market, identified the business opportunity, and then we did a realistic plan, and we run according to the business plan.

CRN: It's not very often you have a second chance like this.

Wang: Yeah. I say this is the best opportunity in Acer's 30-year history. Four to five years ago, people predicted Acer is dying. But when we totally separated the manufacturing, we saw a totally different future and a different horizon.

CRN: Where does the channel fit in these plans?

Wang: In the United States, we first [are focusing] on the commercial channel to access the small- and [midsize]-enterprise market. We started to try some retail channels. But the retail channel we engaged through distributors because they can engage in fulfillment, they can handle the payments for us.

So Acer's strategy is a 100 percent commitment to the channel and leveraging it fully. Anything a partner can do, we don't duplicate it. We don't compete, no matter on the supplier side or on the channel side.