Acer targets UK's major cities

Notebook vendor to begin Experience Centre recruitment drive in earnest in 2010

Watkins: we want to drive [the Experience Centre programme] a lot harder as we know it works

Acer plans to have an Experience Centre operating in every major UK city within 12 months as it targets 25 per cent growth in 2010.

The Experience Centre concept was quietly launched 18 months ago. Following a pilot phase, five independent retailers have gained the accreditation.

Acer will match the investment made by partners in return for a greater share of their floor space, with specialisations available in either computing or mobile communications.

Acer UK country manager Bobby Watkins said: “We have piloted it, rolled it out and tested the results; now we want to drive it a lot harder as we know it works. We want to make sure the smaller guys want to invest in our business and that we invest in theirs.”

Watkins added that Acer has recruited a senior figure from the consumer electronics industry to spearhead the push in January.

Acer recently overhauled its management structure, axing its professional and consumer units in favour of three new divisions based around its mobile, desktop and peripherals technologies.

Watkins said Acer’s targeted 25 per cent growth next year would come from across these three categories, despite its heritage in the notebook space.

“In the projector market we were not visible 12 months ago and we will finish the
year on over ten per cent of the market,” he said. “And in desktops, while everyone else is declining we are growing.”

According to IDC, Acer overtook Dell as the UK PC market leader in the third quarter. Research manager Eszter Morvay, said: “Acer has the lowest cost structure in the industry so can push price further down and still make money.”