Taiwanese PC makers Acer Inc (宏碁) and Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) yesterday said that they would closely monitor currency fluctuations and microeconomic changes in European markets following Britain’s decision to leave the EU.
“The immediate impact [of the referendum] on enterprises would be volatility in the foreign-exchange market, which Acer will monitor closely to respond in a cautious manner,” Acer chief executive officer Jason Chen (陳俊聖) told reporters after the company’s annual general meeting in New Taipei City’s Sijhih District (汐止).
The pound’s decline against the US dollar and the sharp depreciation of the euro against the greenback are expected to affect consumer confidence and suppress the spending capability of European consumers, Chen said.
Chen said Acer is planning to improve its research and development capabilities to launch breakthrough products in the European market as a medium and long-term measure against the effects of Britain’s exit from the EU.
In an attempt to secure Acer’s position in the European market, Chen said the company plans to focus its brand management, raising the company’s brand image to boost sales of high-price and high-quality products.
Chen said that the market share and average selling price of Acer PCs topped the rankings in Germany, according to market research in April.
The research suggested that Acer’s brand image has improved in the German market and consumers there are willing to accept and purchase Acer’s higher-priced and higher-valued products, Chen said, adding that Acer plans to replicate its success in Germany in other European nations by improving its brand image.
Asustek said that the outcome of the British referendum should have limited effects on the firm in the short term, as its European sales management team has been closely monitoring market dynamics and have been checking currency exposure risks in the past few weeks.
Asustek leads the European notebook computer market with a share of 15 to 20 percent, the company said.
Revenues from the eurozone accounted for more than 20 percent of Asustek’s total notebook sales, the company said, adding that it would be more cautious when drafting the firm’s operational strategy and quoting prices to retail channels in European markets.
Smartphone maker HTC Corp (宏達電) said Britain’s decision to leave EU would not have significant effects on HTC’s operations, because it is a global company with operations across the world.
However, Innolux Corp (群創) chairman Wang Jyh-chau (王志超) said he is worried that Britain’s decision to leave the economic block would dash nascent recovery in the LCD panel industry, which has seen demand finally recover this quarter, following a prolonged slump that started in the third quarter of last year.
MediaTek Inc chairman Tsai Ming-kai (蔡明介) said the impact of Brexit would largely depend on weather the issue spreads to other EU members, causing consumers there to be more cautious about their spending on smartphones and other consumer electronics.
Additional reporting by Lisa Wang
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