Acer demands commitment

PC vendor asks resellers to up their game as it rebrands and overhauls partner programme

Watkins: We need to ensure that we are serious part of partners' plans

Acer is asking for more loyalty from its resellers after refreshing its Point and Affinity partner programmes.

The PC vendor has rebranded the tiers of its business-focused Affinity programme from Connect, Active and Executive to Silver, Gold and Platinum.

Meanwhile, a Mobility Centre category has been added to the retail-focused Point programme while its Experience Centre pilot will be rolled out to a wider number of retailers.

Bobby Watkins, UK managing director of Acer, said the overhaul would be supported by a “dramatic” investment in telephone and account management support.

“This is not just a rebranding but also a big investment in staff numbers,” he explained. “At a time when our competitors are making redundancies, we are hiring people and of the big brands we are the only one that is growing.”

In exchange, Watkins said Acer would demand more commitment from partners. For instance, Platinum and Gold resellers must now dedicate at least 10 per cent of their web or exhibition branding activity to Acer.

“We need to ensure that we are a serious part of their plans,” explained Watkins.