Orange County Register

**UPDATE: 8:55 a.m.** Gateway’s news today resulted in job cuts, but the company won’t say how many employees are affected or how many remain in Irvine. See all updates in bold below**

Gone are the bargains and coupon codes sent out weekly to customers of Irvine-based Gateway, which started life in 1985 selling computers directly to customers over the telephone. The company just announced its move to “100 percent indirect sales model,” in order to focus on getting its PCs into stores, online stores and other partners.

While consumers won’t be able to buy a computer at Gateway.com, the company’s PC’s will still be sold online at sites like Best Buy, Circuit City, CompUSA, Costco, HSN, Newegg, Tiger Direct, Office Depot, OfficeMax and Wal-Mart.

No mention of when this will happen, but obviously not today since you can still buy PCs at Gateway.com. I’m waiting to hear back from the company. I just heard from Lisa Emard, with Gateway. The changes will occur this weekend.

Says the company in a release, “This change will dramatically simplify Gateway’s business model and deliver significant cost savings, ultimately resulting in an improved value proposition for consumers.”

But this also appears to be a result of Taiwan PC maker Acer Inc. buying Gateway last year. Acer bought the company because it wanted to boost its presence in the U.S. computer market. Combining the two companies made Acer the number three brand in the U.S. — a position it lost to Apple in the past quarter depending on whose numbers you look at.

“We are shifting Gateway’s distribution method to better align with Acer’s successful global strategy, which was built upon an indirect model. As the only top-tier PC company without a competing U.S. direct sales force, our commitment to the channel is unparalleled in the industry,” said Mark Hill, Acer Group U.S. General Manager.

**UPDATE, 8:55 a.m.** Emard, with Gateway, said the change does have an impact here and in North Sioux City, where Gateway has had a call center and other operations.

“The reductions have been happening in small waves since the close of the merger as the company worked to evaluate each department, function, etc.,” she said.

“As far as Gateway employees, we have all been under the Acer umbrella since the close of the acquisition. Acer doesn’t disclose employee numbers by facility, but I can tell you that we continue to have a significant presence in Irvine and North Sioux City – many of these employees now support Acer in addition to Gateway and/or eMachines.”

Related:

• Acer wraps up merger with Gateway (Oct. 16, 2007)
  
• Gateway officially offers to buy Packard Bell (Oct. 8, 2007)
  
• Gateway will provide transitional support in sale of business unit (Oct. 5, 2007)
  
• Gateway sells business unit in $90 million deal (Sept. 4, 2007)
• Who and what is Acer? (Aug. 27, 2007)
  
• Gateway says no immediate OC impact (Aug. 27, 2007)
  
• If you haven’t heard, Acer buying Gateway (Aug. 27, 2007)
  
• Gateway denies Acer takeover (March 20, 2007)
  
• Why would Acer want Gateway? (March 19, 2007)
• Inside Gateway’s cow country (Nov. 29, 2006)

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