Tech brand Acer wants to be more than a PC company - but are e-scooters a good fit?
After big wins in gaming PCs, Acer is making moves on e-mobility
Dubai: There just seems to be no stopping global tech brands wanting to get into e-mobility – whether that’s a car or a scooter/bike. While smartphone giants Huawei and Xiaomi have chosen the EV option to test their chances in mobility solutions, Acer is going all in on e-scooters.
And Acer did show off its model at the recent COP28, but the question still remains as to why one of the biggest names in PCs (gaming PCs in particular) would want to slug it out with e-scooters.
Because e-scooters remains a commodity game, where branding has less of a role. At least so far. Because users are more taken up with its ease of use and ease of pricing, and less focused on who’s the maker.
Doesn’t that faze Acer? Jerry Kao is co-COO and President for IT Products Business at the Taiwan conglomerate, and he says Acer will not be rushing into over-drive in the new category.
“It’s still in the feasibility space – sure, we received a lot of feedback in Dubai at COP28,” said Kao. “But that’s only a start, we need to see whether an Acer e-scooter can offer buyers what they are looking for. We need to get everything right on the specs – and most important, the pricing.
“Our dealers in UAE, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere have to agree with the MSRP (manufacturer’s suggested retail price). Let’s see where it leads to.”
No such thing as too diversified
Kao dismisses suggestions that Acer is stretching itself by wanting to be in e-mobility. “People say that, but we want to create products that can be called an ‘adjacent’ PC business,” he added. “These are not ad hoc solutions we make.”
Lording it in gaming
Acer might still be in-between decision-making on the e-scooter prospects here, but one category where it’s making headway is with gaming PCs. Based on market trends, Acer’s ‘Predator’ has managed to grab market share in one of the fastest growing subcategories in the retail PC space. The Covid created disruption proved to be just the trigger e-gaming needed in the Gulf, and there’s been no stopping this growth even as the pandemic turned a distant memory.
Being seen as a fairly premium brand in gaming PCs definitely helped our brand positioning.
Acer had the right products and with all the in-demand specs when the gaming market exploded, is what market sources say.
Kao is broadly in agreement with that. “Being seen as a fairly premium brand in gaming PCs definitely helped our brand positioning,” he said. “That’s what we are hoping to extend by getting into other gadget categories, including e-scooters. We are strong in education PCs, with Chrome Education.
“Where we can do better is in commercial/enterprise PCs. We will not take a step back in being a brand with a commercial PC line-up. We want to be a total solutions tech company.”
More to follow…