This month, Acer marked its 30th anniversary in the Middle East and Africa.
In an exclusive interview with ITP.net, the company’s vice president for the Middle East and Africa and head of Product Business Unit for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Massimiliano Rossi, shared how the Taiwanese company has transformed and evolved over the past three decades.
In 1992, Acer opened its offices in JAFZA, UAE as part of its first major transformation under ‘global brand, local touch’, with only seven employees. Today, the company has three offices with 31 employees across the Middle East and Africa serving over 20 countries.
Over the last 30 years, Acer has developed a rapidly growing customer base that recognises the company’s products and innovations. The company has a well-established presence in the market and is continuously investing in growing its business in the region.
“I have been with the company for 15 years,” said Massimiliano Rossi, Vice President for the Middle East and Africa and Head of Product Business Unit for Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). “The past three decades saw the company go through different seasons. But Acer has been historically strong in the consumer segment and over the last few years we have grown to become among the top players in the education, enterprise and gaming markets.”
A long-time Acer employee, Rossi has been with the firm since 2007, having started in product development. During his tenure at Acer, Rossi has worked in different leadership capacities and has witnessed the company evolve and grow from strength to strength.
“Acer’s focus is split between commercial and consumer, which represents 70 percent and 30 percent of our business respectively,” explained Rossi.
“Personal computers (PCs) are our core business, however, we have also explored new opportunities and expanded our offerings to include accessories and peripherals. When it comes to industry verticals, we have a strong footprint in the education sector in the EMEA region and we’ll continue to invest in this industry. As for the product perspective, our Chromebook devices saw a massive uptick from both consumer and commercial segments. This product line is one that’s contributing a lot to the growth of the Acer brand and in bringing new opportunities for us here in the region.”
According to Rossi, Acer’s gaming segment has also gained significant success and has become an important area, in which the company is innovating and developing a lot.
“We are extremely strong in the gaming segment,” he said. “We are constantly innovating to deliver devices that are not just flashy but also cater to the whole lifestyle of gamers. For example, we offer devices that can be utilised both for work and gaming. Additionally, we deliver products that are sleek and portable but don’t compromise on battery life and performance.
The company closed the first quarter of 2022 with a 116 percent growth in year-over-year net revenue for Acer Middle East. In the same period, Acer also successfully increased net revenues for gaming products including desktops, notebooks, and monitors by 83 percent in the region. Additionally, Acer’s market share for its popular gaming notebooks stood at 18 percent till February 2022 in the UAE as per GfK and 16 percent for the same period in KSA.
Navigating challenges and exploring opportunities
Addressing the challenges brought by the Covid-19 pandemic has been one of the biggest undertakings that organisations across the world had and continue to face. However, Rossi highlighted that for the industry, the global event resulted in a revamp of PCs as well. He revealed that due to the work-from-anywhere era, devices that offer portability, good audio and microphone, and quality camera have been in most demand as all these features have become highly essential in providing customers with the best experiences in performing daily tasks.
“People have realised that they can’t rely on just smartphones anymore. They needed devices with certain levels of capabilities, which have brought back their attention to PCs. Because of this we have seen increased demands in certain product lines due to online learning and work-from-home needs, including notebook PCs, Chromebooks, monitors, and others,” he explained.
Another key challenge that has a global impact is sustainability with global imperatives and consumer demands for ‘green’ products and services continuously rising.
In response, last year, introduced a programme called Earthion (Mission Earth). The initiative enlists the company’s entire ecosystem from supply chain partners to consumers and employees, to help tackle environmental challenges through innovative and integrated solutions.
Further to its commitment to sustainability, Acer also introduced Vero Aspire, its first sustainability-focused product under the Earthion platform, early last year. The company then expanded its Vero portfolio across a variety of devices in late 2021.
Sustainability has long been embedded in Acer’s DNA, according to Rossi. “In 2017, we launched Project Humanity, which is Acer’s global initiative to contribute to making positive changes to the environment. I believe that as individuals, as an employee and as a company, we have a responsibility to produce strategies and products that are sustainable and this is part of Acer’s long-term vision,” he said.
The next 30
Looking ahead, Rossi underscored that Acer will continue to grow its footprint in the EMEA region. Additionally, the company will also continue to explore new revenue opportunities outside its core business.
“I believe Acer has been an innovator in different segments. We have proprietary technologies such as the AeroBlade, which was well-distinguished by the community. We have also built a strong portfolio of lifestyle products. These are areas where we aim to continue to grow. We want to be at the forefront of initiatives that we believe can truly make an impact.”
In line with its 30th anniversary, the conglomerate highlighted plans to further strengthen its business in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. It also revealed growth plans in other key markets including Egypt, Iraq, and west and east Africa. “This region is extremely important for us as it’s so diverse. It gives us the opportunity to reach multiple markets. From a product portfolio’s perspective, as mentioned before, our consumer line of business has seen significant success and we aim to continue to solidify and maintain our leadership in this area. Furthermore, we will examine strategies to strengthen our performance in the education segment. We also see a lot of opportunities in expanding our ruggedised product line,” said Rossi.
