Netbook key to Acer growth

Speaking to AME Info, Emanuele Accolla, EMEA Vice President, said the netbooks are part of its multi brand strategy, where it continues to use Gateway and Packard Bell branded products to differentiate from Acer products.

While unit sales from those companies helped, Accolla said that the launch of the netbook gave its third quarter sales the boost that pushed it to number one.

Acer sales are roughly split 35:65 between business and consumers in the Middle East. Business sales in the UAE, he added, have grown fast because of the extreme growth the country has experienced.

The company is following a two part strategy in the region to attract business sales. It will continue to sell through channel partners, which add value to its products, plus it is promoting its presence in key industry sectors and government institutions.

Asked if Acer can maintain its top spot in the region, he said: 'We will see.' The company, he said, will push ahead with its multi-brand strategy and continue to drive down costs and focus on efficiency.

The financial crisis will also shape the sector over the coming year. Accolla expects to see consolidation in the channel sector, with some companies folding.

'The financial crisis will generate a shake out. The first to be affected will be the distribution channels. The bad ones will disappear and we will see some consolidation. On the vendor side, the ones that don't have scale or sufficient cash will have problems. Globally, the market will still grow,' he told AME Info.

Netbooks themselves are targeted at the casual consumer, rather business professional, because they are low-powered machines that will not suit people who need to run process intensive applications.

Accollo argued that the netbook will handle the needs of some business people, but conceded the machines were unlikely to make in-roads into corporations any time soon.

However, because of their low cost, he believes netbooks will find a market among business professionals as a second machine that they use if on the move with the need to only use them for light computing tasks, such as surfing the internet or checking email.

'If you are a business professional and want to log into your virtual private network and look at your email, then with this one kilo machine you can do everything.'