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Packard Bell
This snapshot deals with personal
computer manufacturer Packard Bell.
It covers -
introduction
[under development]
the enterprise
The
Packard Bell name originated in the 1930s as a US radio
manufacturer. During the 1970s it was part of US military
manufacturer Teledyne. It was reborn in 1986 as the name
for a low-cost PC manufacturer.
In 1995 it began producing computers for consumers as
NEC Packard Bell. During the following year NEC
merged Bull's Zenith Data Systems with Packard Bell and
NEC's North American PC arm.
Packard Bell quit the US market in 1999 to concentrate
on Europe, moving its headquarters to the Netherlands.
It claimed to have gained market share from 2003, expanding
from PCs to portable music players and computer peripherals.
In 2006 NEC reintroduced the Packard Bell brand to Asia,
location of its computer. At that time it employed around
750 people in Asia and Europe. It was reported as having
annual revenue of around US$1.9 billion and being "slightly
profitable". It claimed 10-12% to 12 percent of the
European consumer computer market, making it the third
largest PC maker in that category.
During the same year NEC announced that it would sell
the division to focus on computers for businesses. In
September 2006 it indicated that Packard Bell would be
acquired by Lap Shun Hui, former owner of computer reseller
eMachines. He invested about $160 million in eMachines
in 2002, taking the company private before selling it
to PC maker Gateway in 2003 for US$290 million in cash
and stock.
Hui had offered to buy Gateway for US$450 million in August
2006. Details of his acquisition of Packard Bell were
not disclosed; one source reported that the price was
around US$9 million. Packard Bell's sales in the year
prior to the Hui takeover were reported as around €1.28
billion, with revenue recovering to break even after earlier
losses.
studies
There have been no major studies of Packard Bell.
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