July 29, 2004

Putting the sparkle back into Gateway

Gateway has always had a sparkle for me and maybe for other end users. The "sparkle" however was lost in the eyes of Wall Stret.

With new management, from eMachines, I hope that Gateway can better align its finances and become a profitable company. We need true competition in the market. Dell, HP, IBM are there, but Gateway would be a good addition. Of course I can't leave out the white box makers and/or the lesser known brand name vendors, but the lion's share of sales belongs to these 3 (well 4) PC makers.

Cnet writes Can Wayne Inouye succeed where Ted Waitt could not?

That's the question making the rounds on both Wall Street and Main Street these days, as Inouye attempts to revive the momentum at this former high-flying computer maker.

Inouye became Gateway's CEO in March, after Gateway's acquisition of eMachines. It was an interesting match, bringing together two corporate cultures from two vastly separate geographies: Gateway hails from the plains of South Dakota, while eMachines got its start in Southern California. The company will make its new headquarters in Irvine, Calif.

Inouye's first order of business was to cut excess costs and refocus the combined company's businesses. He has since ordered the closing of Gateway's 188 retail stores, a perennial money-losing operation that failed to meet the original lofty expectations. Gateway has since inked an agreement with Best Buy to carry Gateway's PCs, one of a series of retail partnerships Inouye intends to pursue as he seeks to extend the company's nationwide and worldwide coverage.

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