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Gateway to Close All Retail Outlets

So much for branching out as the new consumer electronics king. I guess those plasma tvs didn't sell as well as expected. They should have sold a Gateway version of the iPod.
 
Well, Gateway purchased E-Machines, and will probably be using the retail distribution network that currently sells the E-Machines computers.

So they actually may be expanding their retail presence.
 
szark said:
Well, Gateway purchased E-Machines, and will probably be using the retail distribution network that currently sells the E-Machines computers.

So they actually may be expanding their retail presence.
Click to expand...
They were told that the Gateway stores would compete with their current e-Machines retail chain, and the retailers said the they were considering dumping the e-Machines product if Gateway continued to compete in the same electronics retailer space.
 
They would have told the resellers to take a hike if the stores were getting the job done, but they aren't. Gateway's retail operation has been a money-loser from the beginning.

I have a suspicion that the truth isn't all roses around the Apple retail operation either. See Think Secret's recent reports?
 
i actually think this might be a bad thing, apple has repeatedly referenced gateway as an example of how a computer manufacturer can have it's own retail branch... this might shake investor confidence in Apple, considering the stores are still on kind of a probationary basis...

it is nice to see something nasty happen to gateway tho, considering how nasty their products are.

paul
 
I will be sad to see them go. While it may not have been profitable, it was nice to be able to walk into a store and see the actual product before I purchased it. I know I wish I could have seen Dell's entire line of laptops when I was making my last computer purchase. I prob would of bought one had that been the case. In the end, it was because I was able to pick up and sit down and actually use a PB that I ended up going with an Apple. Had I not seen how crappy Gateway laptops were in person, I might have purchased one unsuspectingly. Thank you Gateway Store for hellping me see the light!

I wonder what they are going to do with that Big Cow painted building now....
 
paulwhannel said:
it is nice to see something nasty happen to gateway tho, considering how nasty their products are.

paul
Click to expand...

I like Gateway. The more they sell the more people get pissed of at PC's in general. I've purchased a few over the years, and not one was worth the cost of the plastic and tin they were made of.
I liken their logo to a piece of Americana I've always hated: That cow-creamer on everyone's table from 1954 to 1970. Not many companies have the brand recognition of Apple. They try, but fail miserably.
As for their closing hurting Apple in any way: I really don't think so. Remember, they had to compete against all the other PC knock-togethers. Apple is a brand unto itself. Want a Mac, go to the web or the Apple Store. Want a PC? Go anywhere to pick up that crap.
 
Buh-Bye, Mad Cow.

Also, Gateway is moving their Poway, CA headquarters (just up the freeway from me - 20 minute drive on a good day) to the Orange County area (also just up the freeway from me - an hour and a half on a good day)

All this should make the shareholders quite happy.
 
paulwhannel said:
i actually think this might be a bad thing, apple has repeatedly referenced gateway as an example of how a computer manufacturer can have it's own retail branch... this might shake investor confidence in Apple, considering the stores are still on kind of a probationary basis...
Click to expand...

Except according to this, Apple (well Fred Anderson) said "We do not have a Gateway strategy". The goal is not to saturate the market, but to have profitable stores. So, Gateway is essentially showing how NOT to do something. But we knew that.


it is nice to see something nasty happen to gateway tho, considering how nasty their products are.
Click to expand...

Couldn't agree more. Too bad, I actually used to like them. Before I saw the light, that is. ;) And before they started really sucking.

How do PC users think an annoying stoner, stupid interns, and a talking cow are good spokesmodels for a computer company? At least Ellen Feiss was kinda funny. There was a story a while ago about a guy who got so fed up with his daughter's Gateway (replaced several times) that he brought it back to the store and smashed it with a sledgehammer. There's your comercial Apple. Go find that guy and switch him.

If he isn't already an Apple user, that is. :p
 
solvs said:
Couldn't agree more. Too bad, I actually used to like them. Before I saw the light, that is. ;) And before they started really sucking.
Click to expand...


Back in the day, Gateway was one of the top producers of computers. Of course everyone that I knew that had a Gateway, had nothing but problems (not even talking about Windows).

There support wasn't all the great either!
 
Gateway's been having trouble for a long time. That's why they branched out into things like plasma screens.

I don't think this means anything for Apple. In fact, if there's one marketing model that I do wish Apple would imitate, it's those mall kiosks that Dell has. Very nice displays, where people actually get to touch and play with the equipment. By putting them in a variety of malls, Dell goes to the shoppers, instead of waiting for shoppers to come to them, which is what Apple stores basically do.
 
Sayhey said:
So much for branching out as the new consumer electronics king. I guess those plasma tvs didn't sell as well as expected. They should have sold a Gateway version of the iPod.
Click to expand...
They do
 

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I have an old Gateway...500 MHz Pentium 3. Really sturdy, used to be my primary computer. Was too slow for XP so I got a Dell in December 03....May after that, having been pretty much skinned by Dell (quirky fans, misrepresented soundcard, and the like) I found myself needing a laptop.............and let's just say something really stuck out about the 12" 800 MHz iBook G3.
 
Sorry to be the wet blanket at this Gateway bashing party, but I can't consider it "good news" knowing that hundreds of people are going to be out of a job.


Lethal
 
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