Gateway, Inc.

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This article is about the computer company. For other uses of Gateway, see Gateway (disambiguation).
Gateway Inc.
FormerlyGateway 2000 (1985–1998)
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryComputer hardware, software & services
FoundedSeptember 5, 1985; 38 years ago (1985-09-05)
Sioux City, Iowa, U.S.
FoundersTed Waitt
Mike Hammond
Headquarters
Irvine, California
,
U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
ProductsDesktops, laptops, servers, monitors
RevenueIncrease US$3.980 billion (2006)
Number of employees
2,000
ParentIndependent (1985–2007)
Acer Inc. (2007–present)
SubsidiarieseMachines (now defunct)
Websitegatewayusa.com

Gateway, Inc., previously Gateway 2000, is an American computer hardware company. The company developed, manufactured, supported, and marketed a wide range of personal computers, computer monitors, servers, and computer accessories[citation needed]. It was acquired by hardware and electronics corporation Acer, in October 2007.[1][2]

In 2020, Walmart had announced a deal with Gateway in partnership with THX to revive the Gateway brand launching various devices from tablets, convertibles and budget laptops. [3]

History

Gateway 2000 logo used from 1986 to 1998
Gateway 2000 logo used from 1986 to 1998
Gateway logo logo used from 2002 to 2004
Gateway logo logo used from 2002 to 2004

Gateway was founded on September 5, 1985,[4] on a farm outside Sioux City, Iowa, by Ted Waitt, Norm Waitt (Ted's brother), and Mike Hammond.[5]

The origins of the company's name and cow motif can be traced to the meatpacking industry in the Sioux City area in the late 19th century[citation needed]. Before the Big Sioux and Missouri rivers were spanned by bridges, it was common to transport cattle into Sioux City by ferry, and every so often, a cow would slip off the ferry deck[citation needed]. The farmers were often left with no choice but to give up the cow for lost and get the rest across the fast-moving river[citation needed]. Ted Waitt's ancestor was an enterprising individual[citation needed] who would round up these cattle before they could drown and sold them to the meatpacking plants once rescued[citation needed]. Also, North Sioux City, SD is sometimes referred to as the "Gateway to South Dakota" due to its location[citation needed].

Gateway 2000 was also an innovator in low-end computers with the first sub-$1,000 name-brand PC, the all-in-one Astro.[6]

Gateway built brand recognition in part by shipping computers in spotted boxes patterned after Holstein cow markings. In 1989, Gateway moved its corporate offices and production facilities to North Sioux City, South Dakota.

In 1997, Gateway acquired Advanced Logic Research, a maker of high-end personal computers and servers.[7] Gateway dropped the "2000" from its name on October 31, 1998, recognizing that the year 2000 would soon cease to be futuristic.[8]

In line with the Holstein cow mascot, Gateway opened a chain of "farm-styled" retail stores called Gateway Country Stores, mostly in suburban and rural areas across the United States. The first of these stores opened in 1996. At the chain's peak in 2001, there were over 300 locations across the country, and the stores are said to have inspired the launch of the Apple Store that same year.[9] Gateway Country stores were primarily showrooms for the company's computers, allowing customers to meet with a salesperson and customize computers that would be shipped to their homes, and only offered a small selection of its most popular models to be purchased in the store.[10] While the stores were more profitable than the company's other sales venues, dozens were closed as the company struggled throughout the early 2000s.[11] The last remaining stores closed in 2004.[12]

AOL acquired Gateway.net, the online component of Gateway, Inc. in October 1999 for US$800 million.[13]

To grow beyond its model of selling high-end PCs by phone, and to attract top management and engineers, Gateway relocated its base of operations to La Jolla, California, in May 1998.[14] In an effort to cut operating costs, Gateway made another move, this time to Poway, California, in October 2001. After acquiring eMachines in 2004, Gateway again relocated its corporate headquarters, to Irvine, California.[15][16][17]

In 2000, Gateway announced a partnership with OfficeMax to sell its computers in store through the Gateway Country Branding. [18] In 2001, Office Max Announced that it was replacing Gateway with the HP Brand. [19]

In 2003, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed fraud charges against three former Gateway executives: CEO Jeff Weitzen, former chief financial officer John Todd, and former controller Robert Manza.[20] The lawsuit alleged that the executives engaged in securities violations and misled investors about the health of the company.[20] Weitzen was cleared of securities fraud in 2006; however, Todd and Manza were found liable for inflating revenue in a jury trial which concluded in March 2007.[21]

Gateway moved build-to-order desktop, laptop, and server manufacturing back to the United States with the opening of its Gateway Configuration Center in Nashville, in September 2006. It employed 385 people in that location. By April 2007, Gateway notebook computers were produced in China and its desktops had "made in Mexico" stickers.[citation needed]

On October 16, 2007, Acer completed its acquisition of Gateway.[2]

Gateway laptop at a Walmart in 2022

In September 2020, Acer granted Gateway branding and licensing rights to Bmorn Technology, a Shenzhen based technology company to manufacture and sell Gateway branded laptops and tablets through Walmart.[22] The new line of laptops is a simple rebadging of Acer's existing EVOO branded laptops.[23] The laptops are tuned in partnership with THX.[24]

Current and previous products

Previous hardware

In September 2002, Gateway entered the consumer electronics market with aggressively priced plasma TVs. At the time, Gateway's US$2,999 price for a 42" plasma TV undercut name-brand competitors by thousands of dollars per unit. In 2003, the company expanded the range of plasma TVs and added digital cameras, DLP projectors, wireless Internet routers, and MP3 players. By early 2004, in terms of volume, Gateway had moved into a leadership position in the plasma TV category in the United States. However, the pressure to achieve profits after the acquisition of eMachines led then-CEO Wayne Inouye to phase Gateway-branded consumer electronics out of their product line that same year.

eMachines

Main article: eMachines

eMachines was founded in 1998,[25] brand of low-end personal computers.[26] It was acquired by Gateway, Inc. in 2004.[27] In 2007, the eMachines brand was discontinued by Acer Inc.,[28] which acquired Gateway in 2007. [29]

See also

References

  1. ^ Goldman, David (November 4, 2015). "Gateway computer co-founder Michael Hammond is dead at 53". CNN. Gateway started closing stores, sales stagnated, and the company sold itself to Taiwanese computing giant Acer for $710 million in 2007. Acer still sells a small handful of Gateway-branded PCs as part of its budget computer lineup. Hammond was born on November 28, 1961, in Des Moines, Iowa
  2. ^ a b "Acer-Gateway Merger Complete". www.notebookreview.com. Retrieved 2019-08-26.
  3. ^ "Gateway laptops are back and better than ever — available exclusively at Walmart". Mashable. July 2021.
  4. ^ "What Ever Happened To Gateway?". Think Computers. 2013-03-30. Starting in 1985, Gateway 2000 was the original moniker of Gateway computers. Shipped in Holstein cow markings boxes to accent the rural ...
  5. ^ "Gateway Inc. Co-Founder Mike Hammond Dies at Age 53". The New York Times. Associated Press. 2 November 2015.
  6. ^ "Hands-On – Gateway Astro". June 1, 2000. Gateway's Astro .. affordable and compact .. in a single unit
  7. ^ Afzali, Cyrus (June 19, 1997). "Gateway buys ALR". Money. Time Warner. Archived from the original on June 21, 2019.
  8. ^ Dreeszen, Dave (2007-12-16). "Gateway: One awesome ride". Sioux City Journal. Retrieved 2019-05-15.
  9. ^ "Gateway Country Stores Silence Critics, Intrigue Others", TheStreet, June 22, 1999.
  10. ^ "Gateway shifts retail strategy", CNET, March 15, 2002.
  11. ^ "Gateway Country's borders are falling", ZDNet, March 29, 2001.
  12. ^ "Gateway to close all retail stores April 9", ComputerWorld, April 2, 2004.
  13. ^ Spooner, John G. (2004-11-04). "Gateway closes AOL chapter with stock buyback". CNET. Retrieved 2019-05-15.
  14. ^ Crockett, Roger O. (1998-07-05). "Gateway Loses the Folksy Shtick". BusinessWeek. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
  15. ^ "Technology Briefing | Hardware: Gateway Plans Move". The New York Times. Bloomberg News. 2004-04-01. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-05-15.
  16. ^ Freeman, Mike (2004-03-30). "Gateway Inc. to leave Poway". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  17. ^ "Gateway, Inc.: Private Company Information". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2017-08-23.
  18. ^ News, Bloomberg (24 February 2000). "Company News; Gateway Announces Alliances with Sun and Officemax". The New York Times. {{cite news}}: |last1= has generic name (help)
  19. ^ "HP replaces Gateway in OfficeMax stores". ZDNet.
  20. ^ a b Kawamoto, Dawn (2003-11-14). "Former Gateway CEO, two others charged with fraud". CNET. Retrieved 2018-11-28.
  21. ^ "Ex-Gateway executives found liable in accounting fraud". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. 9 March 2007. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  22. ^ "Iconic Gateway Brand Launches Legen-DAIRY New Line of Laptops, Tablets Exclusively at Walmart".
  23. ^ Salter, Jim (2020-09-17). "We found out who makes Walmart's new Gateway laptops, and it's bad news". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
  24. ^ "Iconic Cow-Spotted Gateway PC Brand Returns with Full Line of Laptops Sold Exclusively at Walmart.com".
  25. ^ "Emachines Is Fourth in U.S. Sales of PC's". The New York Times. 1999-03-31. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-05-15.
  26. ^ Schwartz, Ephraim (September 29, 1998). "Emachines readies sub-$500 PCs". CNN.
  27. ^ Marshall, Carolyn (2004-01-31). "Gateway Makes Deal To Acquire EMachines". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-05-15.
  28. ^ Shah, Agam (2013-01-24). "Acer sheds eMachines, turns to Gateway and Packard Bell for post-PC era". PCWorld. Retrieved 2019-05-15.
  29. ^ Nystedt, Dan (2007-10-11). "Acer completes Gateway share purchase". The Washington Post. PC World. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2019-05-15.

External links

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