GianfrancoLanci
Latest
Acer Financials: meager 2011 Q4 profit, massive annual loss
Acer was hoping for the gloom to lift after two bad quarters, but it can hardly call its latest financials stellar. It scraped a slender $2.4 million profit in the quarter, which wasn't enough to prevent the company posting an overall annual loss of $212 million. It blamed one off charges and operational and strategic adjustments (though no mention of the impending war with Lenovo over Gianfranco Lanci) for the bad year. The terse release (after the break) claims the business is becoming "more healthy and stable," which is a good way to paint a quarter-on-quarter drop of 98.4 percent turnover.
Acer files suit against former CEO Gianfranco Lanci over non-compete breach
Gianfranco Lanci may be gone from Acer, but the PC maker's former chief is not forgotten -- not financially, at least. The company is suing the exec over non-compete violations, after he jumped ship around this time last year. The exec recently landed a gig at Lenovo as head of its Europe, Middle East and Africa division, after doing some time as a consultant for the company. Acer filed the suit in Lanci's native Italy, alleging that he "has clearly breached the terms" of the 12-month non-compete. No word yet on how much the company is seeking with the claim.
Lenovo taps former Acer CEO Gianfranco Lanci to lead new Europe, Middle East and Africa division
It looks like former Acer CEO Gianfranco Lanci's recent gig as a consultant for Lenovo has worked out pretty well -- Lenovo confirmed today that it's bringing on Lanci in a permanent position as the head of the its new Europe, Middle East and Africa (or EMEA) division. As The Wall Street Journal reports, that move is part of a broader reorganization within the company (going into effect April 2nd), which will see it have four units focused on different regions instead of the current three. Current Lenovo execs will head up the three other divisions.
Ex-Acer CEO Gianfranco Lanci joins Lenovo as a consultant
We haven't heard much from outspoken former Acer CEO Gianfranco Lanci since he left the company back in March of this year, but it looks like he's now ready to get back into the PC business in a slightly different role. Lenovo confirmed today that Lanci is joining the company as a consultant to "help develop and accelerate Lenovo's worldwide consumer business." Initially, those efforts will be mostly focused on Lenovo's integration of German PC manufacturer Medion, which it acquired in June for $907 million, but it sounds like this is more than just a short-term gig -- he does get to stay in Italy, though. Head on past the break for Lenovo's complete statement.
New Acer will be more like Apple, less like HP
The details behind the rift that saw Acer's CEO Gianfranco Lanci (pictured) suddenly resign yesterday are now starting to emerge. Simply put, Acer's board wants the Taiwanese company to be more like Apple and HTC, according to Bloomberg, raking in big profits on fat margins. Lanci's approach, however, was to aggressively increase volumes and use its scale to negotiate cheaper prices from suppliers in a race to steal market share from Dell and HP. According to data compiled by Bloomberg, Acer's profit margin in the last fiscal year was just 2.3 percent compared to Apple's 21.5 percent. Daunting, to say the least. With Lanci gone, JT Wang, Acer's chairman and temporary CEO, plans to put more effort into expanding its smartphone and tablet business while broadening efforts around enterprise sales. For Wang, Lanci's departure marks a break with the past, saying, "Recently the iPad [tablet computer] and other new form factors have had a very big impact on the PC market. We have to change our business strategy." While PCs will still be core to the business, Wang said "we won't be in a hurry to change to become the world number one." Unfortunately for Acer, its brand is more closely associated with low-cost laptops than with the premium devices required to significantly expand its profit margins. We'd wish 'em luck but we think Acer will be better served by an innovative CEO and focused R&D.
Acer CEO and President Gianfranco Lanci resigns amid disagreement about company's future direction
Acer's board and CEO don't seem to have been getting along too brilliantly lately and now the situation's come to a point with the resignation of one Mr. Gianfranco Lanci from the company's helm. In a press release just distributed, Acer points out that Lanci held different views from the majority of board members about the "importance on scale, growth, customer value creation, brand position enhancement, and on resource allocation and methods of implementation." Following a few months of discussions that failed to deliver a consensus, both parties have decided it's best to part ways. For now, things continue as normal with Acer's goal still being globalization of its product portfolio, whose centerpiece will remain the personal computer, according to Chairman JT Wang. He'll be the man to take over for Lanci while Acer seeks out a replacement for the outspoken Italian.
Acer confirms plans for Windows Phone 7
We saw the briefest whisper of an indication a couple months ago, but now Acer CEO Gianfranco Lanci has come out and said it: Acer's working on Windows Phone 7. In an interview with Ina Fried, Gianfranco touched briefly on the company's plans for Microsoft's new OS, after an ill-fated stint with Windows Mobile not so long ago. Naturally, the addition of Windows Phone 7 won't be coming at the expense of Acer's newfound love of Android, but Lanci oddly says he sees for WP7 "the same opportunity you can see on Android in terms of customization." We don't know what sort of customization he could be referring to, but we're trembling in anticipation. So, let's just tally them up: MeeGo, Chrome OS, Windows Phone 7, Android, and, of course, Windows itself... pretty nice collection you've got for yourself, Acer. What's next, BeOS?
Live from Acer's global press conference
Hey, remember the time when Acer CEO Gianfranco Lanci got on stage, ripped a netbook in two and unveiled its Android tablet? Us neither, but who knows, it might all happen in the next hour or so. We're there covering it live, and the action is supposed to start around 10:15AM 11:00AM ET. Join us!
Acer tablet PC line launching on November 23rd, priced from $299 to $699
Not much more to tell you that you didn't already pick up from the headline. Acer CEO Gianfranco Lanci told Dow Jones Newswire that it will be launching its first line of tablet PCs in New York City on November 23rd, priced from $299 to $699 each. That's all the man said, leaving us to speculate on the OS (though Android's been heavily rumored) and whether we're looking at the launch of an Acer 5-, 7-, or 10-inch tablet (or all of the above) priced with or without carrier subsidies. Still, with Android Gingerbread already on the lawn of the house that Google built we can expect to see a whole slew of Google sanctioned tablets launch before CES 2011 gets underway in January.
Acer CEO teases 7-inch Android tablet, promises it for Q4 2010
Acer's been busy doing a presentation over in Beijing today, and the highlight of the show was the first sighting of the company's 7-inch Android tablet. It's described by Shufflegazine as "pretty fast with sensitive touch," though CEO Gianfranco Lanci was apparently reluctant to disclose any of the specs. He told the gathered press to expect it in the fourth quarter of this year, which sounds all kinds of 2000-and-late, but we have to consider the fact that only a couple of months ago Acer was telling us it wasn't going to enter the tablet realm at all. What's interesting is that Lanci described network operators as an "obvious" sales channel, suggesting the slate has an integrated 3G module, while it also looks like the silvery bottom of the device is occupied by a QWERTY keyboard not unlike that found on Amazon's Kindle. Interesting times lie ahead, that's for sure. [Thanks, Imran]
Acer: we'll overtake Dell as world's number two PC maker... soon
Acer's President Gianfranco Lanci is talking some big talk these days, but not completely without reason. The Taiwan-based computer manufacturer says it does not expect to see a decline in revenue this year over last, meaning that it should clear somewhere in the realm of $17 billion -- its 2008 revenue figure. Much of the good news (and sales) hails from Asia, where retail markets have not been as hard hit by the economic insanity of the last year. Moreover, Lanci also said that with these figures, Acer "can finally pass Dell" sometime between this quarter and the next. He also added that the company expects to "breach the gap with HP" when it comes to notebooks, netbooks, and smartphones. So... that means we can expect a ton of Acers this year, right? Right. Update: Well, that was fast.
CE-Oh no he didn't! Part LXI: Acer chief says Japanese PC companies "the weakest today"
We're pretty sure we've heard Acer CEO Gianfranco Lanci say PC industry consolidation resulting in fewer players and lower component prices would be a good thing before, but he dressed it with a side of smackdown today: speaking to the New York Times, he said that Toshiba and Sony's PC businesses would be the first targets, since "the Japanese for sure are the weakest today." Ouch. It's especially harsh since Sony just broke down and released its first netbook this morning after claiming that the low-cost machines were a downward spiral, but that wasn't enough blood for Gianfranco: he also said that ASUS and Lenovo need to "think long and hard" about remaining independent companies. Yow -- sounds like someone's planning to do a little shopping, don't you think?
Acer already working on "several Android devices," smartphone included
Okay, now we get it -- the flood of Android phones we were expecting at MWC and CTIA this year are actually arriving a month or two late. Nice. Anywho, with Samsung just recently dishing out official dirt on its Google-fied I7500 and HTC pushing out its Magic overseas, Acer is making darn sure it's not left out as the bandwagon cruises by. During the firm's Q1 investor's conference today, Gianfranco Lanci (President and CEO) noted that "the entire industry is looking at Android," and that his company "is testing Android on a lot of different solutions." Specifically, he stated that it was "working on an Android solution for the smartphone, but it's too early to say if [Acer] is going to [put the OS] on a netbook in the near future." 'Course, he could be spitting out positive vibes to just make sure we don't forget about 'em, but here's hoping Mr. Lanci takes him own quotes seriously. We'll be watching -- like Rockwell, minus the catchy chorus.
Acer promotes Gianfranco Lanci to CEO, J.T. Wang becomes Acer Group CEO
It's not like Acer's Gianfranco Lanci (shown right) was hurtin' for cash -- after all, the guy was (and still is) president of the company -- but there's just nothing quite like slapping "and CEO" on the end of said title. Approved by the outfit's Board of Directors today, Mr. Lanci has been promoted to Chairman, while the previous CEO, J.T. Wang, will serve as Acer Group CEO. From what we can tell, there's no hard feelings about any of the moves, and c'mon, it is nice to move from one corner office to another every now and then, you know?[Via PCWorld]
CE-Oh no he didn't! Part XL: Acer's Gianfranco Lanci says "entire industry" disappointed by Vista
Acer President Gianfranco Lanci doesn't look to have minced any words about his thoughts on Vista during a recent interview with the Financial Times Deutschland, reportedly telling the publication that "the entire industry is disappointed by Windows Vista." As if that wasn't a big enough shot across the bow, Lanci further went on to say that it's "not going to change in the second half of this year," adding that "I really don't think that someone has bought a new PC specifically for Vista." Lanci apparently didn't have quite everything out of his system just yet though, also lambasting Vista for not being ready when it was released, saying that "stability is certainly a problem." We some suspect he won't be too pleased with Microsoft's recent pronouncements on the matter either.
