Elitegroup Computer Systems Co (精英電腦), whose core business is computer motherboards, yesterday launched high-end laptops targeted at professional women, in a bid to tap into Taiwanese women's rising spending power and find a niche to survive in the competitive laptop market.
"We will move toward niche markets to gain more market share," said Sam Tsai (蔡耀禎), general manager of the company's notebook, PC and systems business unit, at a product launch yesterday.
As a late entrant into the laptop business, Elitegroup only holds a small market share, lagging far behind market leaders such as Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦), Acer Inc and Hewlett-Packard.
Tsai didn't want to reveal the company's exact market share, but he stressed that Elitegroup is unfazed by competition from low-priced notebooks that have recently been introduced into the market, since its customized products will help it win over consumers' hearts.
The notebooks launched yesterday bear a puppy-dog logo on the cover with colorful stripes representing the Scottish spirit. The 2kg models, the Scottish House 223 CW and 223 DW, are being sold for NT$39,900 and NT$49,900, with only a limited stock of 2,400 available.
Elitegroup is just one of many vendors who are launching new models ahead of the holiday shopping season. Asustek yesterday also unveiled a high-end laptop. Priced at NT$52,800, the Asus W6 is aimed at business users who need a wireless connection.
Elitegroup, which shipped around 510,000 units last year, is hoping to ship 600,000 laptop this year, Tsai said, adding that this goal should be met in the peak sales months from this month through November. Of the total shipments, 95 percent will come from its original design manufacturing segment, with the rest from its brand-name laptops, Tsai said.
He said that the company will continue to launch notebooks for various market segments. One plan is to introduce easy-to-use laptops for older consumers aged 45 to 60, as that untapped market is huge. He said that the plans are still under evaluation and did not give a specific timeframe for the launch.
An analyst questioned the effect of the new laptops on Elitegroup's performance.
"The new launch from Elitegroup is probably a publicity stunt," said Helen Chen (陳佩君), an analyst with Polaris Securities Co (寶來證券). This launch will enable it to increase its market visibility, she said.
According to Chen, the limited stock of the laptops will not contribute much to the company's overall revenues, due to the fact that high-end laptops are such a narrow market segment.
However, the trend for lower-priced laptops is here to stay, driven by strong consumer demand, she said.
Her view is backed up by Acer, whose entry-level laptop, the Extensa 2603LCi priced at NT$19,999 apiece, sold out within a week of the product's Sept. 9 launch.
Shares of Elitegroup rose 4.17 percent to NT$22.5 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, while Acer was up 2.6 percent to NT$63.3.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) secured a record 70.2 percent share of the global foundry business in the second quarter, up from 67.6 percent the previous quarter, and continued widening its lead over second-placed Samsung Electronics Co, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said on Monday. TSMC posted US$30.24 billion in sales in the April-to-June period, up 18.5 percent from the previous quarter, driven by major smartphone customers entering their ramp-up cycle and robust demand for artificial intelligence chips, laptops and PCs, which boosted wafer shipments and average selling prices, TrendForce said in a report. Samsung’s sales also grew in the second quarter, up
On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump weighed in on a pressing national issue: The rebranding of a restaurant chain. Last week, Cracker Barrel, a Tennessee company whose nationwide locations lean heavily on a cozy, old-timey aesthetic — “rocking chairs on the porch, a warm fire in the hearth, peg games on the table” — announced it was updating its logo. Uncle Herschel, the man who once appeared next to the letters with a barrel, was gone. It sparked ire on the right, with Donald Trump Jr leading a charge against the rebranding: “WTF is wrong with Cracker Barrel?!” Later, Trump Sr weighed
HEADWINDS: Upfront investment is unavoidable in the merger, but cost savings would materialize over time, TS Financial Holding Co president Welch Lin said TS Financial Holding Co (台新新光金控) said it would take about two years before the benefits of its merger with Shin Kong Financial Holding Co (新光金控) become evident, as the group prioritizes the consolidation of its major subsidiaries. “The group’s priority is to complete the consolidation of different subsidiaries,” Welch Lin (林維俊), president of the nation’s fourth-largest financial conglomerate by assets, told reporters during its first earnings briefing since the merger took effect on July 24. The asset management units are scheduled to merge in November, followed by life insurance in January next year and securities operations in April, Lin said. Banking integration,
LOOPHOLES: The move is to end a break that was aiding foreign producers without any similar benefit for US manufacturers, the US Department of Commerce said US President Donald Trump’s administration would make it harder for Samsung Electronics Co and SK Hynix Inc to ship critical equipment to their chipmaking operations in China, dealing a potential blow to the companies’ production in the world’s largest semiconductor market. The US Department of Commerce in a notice published on Friday said that it was revoking waivers for Samsung and SK Hynix to use US technologies in their Chinese operations. The companies had been operating in China under regulations that allow them to import chipmaking equipment without applying for a new license each time. The move would revise what is known
RSS