Gateway, Inc.

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This article is about the computer company. For other uses of Gateway, see Gateway (disambiguation).
Gateway Inc.
FormerlyGateway 2000 (1985–1998)
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryComputer hardware, software & services
FoundedSeptember 5, 1985; 35 years ago (1985-09-05)
Sioux City, Iowa, U.S.
FoundersTed Waitt
Mike Hammond
Headquarters
Irvine, California
,
U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
ProductsDesktops, laptops, servers, monitors
RevenueIncrease US$3.980 billion (2006)
Number of employees
2,000
ParentAcer Inc. (2007)
SubsidiarieseMachines (now-defunct)
Websitegatewayusa.com

Gateway, Inc., previously Gateway 2000, is an American computer hardware company. The company develops, manufactures, supports, and markets a wide range of personal computers, computer monitors, servers, and computer accessories. It was acquired by hardware and electronics corporation, Acer, in October 2007.[1][2]

History[]

Later 1990s version of Gateway logo used from 1985 to 1998.
Gateway logo used from 2002 to 2004.

Gateway was founded on September 5, 1985,[3] on a farm outside Sioux City, Iowa, by Ted Waitt, Norm Waitt (Ted's brother), and Mike Hammond.[4]

The origins of the company's name and cow motif can be traced to the meatpacking industry in the Sioux City area in the late 19th century. Before the Big Sioux and Missouri rivers were spanned by bridges, it was common to transport cattle into Sioux City by ferry, and every so often, a cow would slip off the ferry deck. The farmers were often left with no choice but to give up the cow for lost and get the rest across the fast-moving river. Ted Waitt's ancestor was an enterprising individual who would round up these cattle before they could drown and sold them to the meatpacking plants once rescued. Also, North Sioux City, SD is sometimes referred to as the "Gateway to South Dakota" due to its location.

Gateway 2000 was also an innovator in low-end computers with the first sub-$1,000 name-brand PC, the all-in-one Astro.[5]

Gateway built brand recognition in part by shipping computers in spotted boxes patterned after Holstein cow markings. In 1989, Gateway moved its corporate offices and production facilities to North Sioux City, South Dakota. In line with the Holstein cow mascot, Gateway opened a chain of farm-styled retail stores called Gateway Country Stores, mostly in suburban and rural areas across the United States. It dropped the "2000" from its name on October 31, 1998 in an effort to appeal to non-millennial markets.[6]

AOL acquired Gateway.net, the online component of Gateway, Inc. in October 1999 for US$800 million.[7]

To grow beyond its model of selling high-end PCs by phone, and to attract top management and engineers, Gateway relocated its base of operations to La Jolla, California, in May 1998.[8] In an effort to cut operating costs, Gateway made another move, this time to Poway, California, in October 2001. After acquiring eMachines in 2004, Gateway again relocated its corporate headquarters, to Irvine, California.[9][10][11]

In 2003, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed fraud charges against three former Gateway executives: CEO Jeff Weitzen, former chief financial officer John Todd, and former controller Robert Manza.[12] The lawsuit alleged that the executives engaged in securities violations and misled investors about the health of the company.[12] Weitzen was cleared of securities fraud in 2006; however, Todd and Manza were found liable for inflating revenue in a jury trial which concluded in March 2007.[13]

In 2002, Gateway expanded into the consumer electronics world with products that included plasma screen TVs, digital cameras, DLP projectors, wireless Internet routers, and MP3 players. While the company enjoyed some success in gaining substantial market share from traditional leaders in the space, particularly with plasma TVs and digital cameras, the limited short-term profit potential of those product lines led then-CEO Wayne Inouye to pull the company out of that segment during 2004. Gateway still acts as a retailer selling third-party electronic goods online.[citation needed]

Gateway moved build-to-order desktop, laptop, and server manufacturing back to the United States with the opening of its Gateway Configuration Center in Nashville, in September 2006. It employed 385 people in that location. By April 2007, Gateway notebook computers were produced in China and its desktops had "made in Mexico" stickers.[citation needed]

On October 16, 2007, Acer completed its acquisition of Gateway.[2]

In September 2020, Acer granted Gateway branding and licensing rights to Bmorn Technology, a Shenzhen based technology company to manufacture and sell Gateway branded laptops and tablets via Walmart where these devices are not designed, produced, or manufactured by Acer. Instead it’s rebadging their existing EVOO branded laptops.[14]

Current and previous products[]

Previous hardware[]

In September 2002, Gateway entered the consumer electronics market with aggressively priced plasma TVs. At the time, Gateway's US$2,999 price for a 42" plasma TV undercut name-brand competitors by thousands of dollars per unit. In 2003, the company expanded the range of plasma TVs and added digital cameras, MP3 players, and other devices. By early 2004, in terms of volume, Gateway had moved into a leadership position in the plasma TV category in the United States. However, the pressure to achieve profits after the acquisition of eMachines led the company to phase Gateway-branded consumer electronics out of their product line.

eMachines[]

Main article: eMachines

eMachines was founded in 1998,[15] brand of low-end personal computers.[16]

It was acquired by Gateway, Inc. in 2004,[17] the latter in turn was acquired by Acer Inc. in 2007.[18]

The eMachines brand was discontinued in 2013.[19]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Goldman, David (November 4, 2015). "Gateway computer co-founder Michael Hammond is dead at 53". CNN. Gateway started closing stores, sales stagnated, and the company sold itself to Taiwanese computing giant Acer for $710 million in 2007. Acer still sells a small handful of Gateway-branded PCs as part of its budget computer lineup. Hammond was born on November 28, 1961, in Des Moines, Iowa
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "Acer-Gateway Merger Complete". www.notebookreview.com. Retrieved 2019-08-26.
  3. ^ "What Ever Happened To Gateway?". Think Computers. 2013-03-30. Starting in 1985, Gateway 2000 was the original moniker of Gateway computers. Shipped in Holstein cow markings boxes to accent the rural ...
  4. ^ "Gateway Inc. Co-Founder Mike Hammond Dies at Age 53". The New York Times. Associated Press. 2 November 2015.
  5. ^ "Hands-On – Gateway Astro". June 1, 2000. Gateway's Astro .. affordable and compact .. in a single unit
  6. ^ Dreeszen, Dave (2007-12-16). "Gateway: One awesome ride". Sioux City Journal. Retrieved 2019-05-15.
  7. ^ Spooner, John G. (2004-11-04). "Gateway closes AOL chapter with stock buyback". CNET. Retrieved 2019-05-15.
  8. ^ Crockett, Roger O. (1998-07-05). "Gateway Loses the Folksy Shtick". BusinessWeek. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
  9. ^ "Technology Briefing | Hardware: Gateway Plans Move". The New York Times. Bloomberg News. 2004-04-01. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-05-15.
  10. ^ Freeman, Mike (2004-03-30). "Gateway Inc. to leave Poway". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  11. ^ "Gateway, Inc.: Private Company Information". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2017-08-23.
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b Kawamoto, Dawn (2003-11-14). "Former Gateway CEO, two others charged with fraud". CNET. Retrieved 2018-11-28.
  13. ^ "Ex-Gateway executives found liable in accounting fraud". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. 9 March 2007. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  14. ^ Salter, Jim (2020-09-17). "We found out who makes Walmart's new Gateway laptops, and it's bad news". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
  15. ^ "Emachines Is Fourth in U.S. Sales of PC's". The New York Times. 1999-03-31. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-05-15.
  16. ^ Schwartz, Ephraim (September 29, 1998). "Emachines readies sub-$500 PCs". CNN.
  17. ^ Marshall, Carolyn (2004-01-31). "Gateway Makes Deal To Acquire EMachines". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-05-15.
  18. ^ Nystedt, Dan (2007-10-11). "Acer completes Gateway share purchase". The Washington Post. PC World. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2019-05-15.
  19. ^ Shah, Agam (2013-01-24). "Acer sheds eMachines, turns to Gateway and Packard Bell for post-PC era". PCWorld. Retrieved 2019-05-15.

External links[]

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