Gateway To Shut All Of Its Stores

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Dermot

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I know that we have some Gateway fans out there….I thought this may be of interest.

Rgs

Dermot

PS
Don’t tell Jean that I posting stuff about anyone but Dell :rolleyes:
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Gateway To Shut All Of Its Stores
Arik Hesseldahl, 04.01.04, 6:49 PM ET

NEW YORK - Gateway announced its first strategic shift since it acquired privately held Emachines by saying it would close its 188 Gateway Country retail stores and eliminate 2,500 retail sales jobs.

In January, the struggling PC maker bought Emachines in a deal valued at $290 million and Emachines CEO Wayne Inouye took over the corner office of the combined company. Inouye is no stranger to turnaround. He led Emachines following its 2001 delisting from the Nasdaq National Market into a profitable enterprise with sales north of $1 billion for 2003.

As a company competing with Dell (nasdaq: DELL - news - people ), the Gateway (nyse: GTW - news - people ) stores have always been an operational and financial drag, and immediately after the merger closed speculation began that Inouye would shutter the stores. The company reported a loss of $1.62 per share on revenue of $3.4 billion in fiscal 2003. Total PC unit sales declined 24% year over year.

In an interview with us (see: "The Gateway That Could Have Been") John Hui, the Los Angeles entrepreneur who owned Emachines before selling it to Gateway, revealed that he had considered buying Gateway beginning in late 2002, and planned to take it private. Under such a plan, Hui's investment banker, Diana Maranon of Averill Capital, said privatization plans for Gateway included plans to close the stores.
 
Couldn't happen to a better company! Their customer service sucks! We experienced a total nightmare w/Gateway. A crashed computer still under warranty and they wouldn't do squat about it!
 
She'e exactly right, folks! It slowly 'rode off into the sunset'. I had to raise Holy H ell before I found out they had 3 levels of 'support'.
And they kept you talking to people as illiterate as I until the 30 day-free-replacement offer expired.
Then you got the 'second tier' of technical support. Our problem started all because I couldn't turn of the 'power-saver' option.
It was a long, and sad story...
 
Someone walked into our local Gateway store a couple of years ago and beat the **** out of his own Gateway computer with a sledgehammer.

He was up on charges of disturbing the peace. Some children who happened to be in the store were traumatized. It's at least a misdemeanor to traumatize children.

I didn't hear how the case turned out, but I guess the guy made his point.

I have the article somewhere - probably in a box in my basement. I always meant to send it to Charles. (Don't give up Charles. Remember - Kit eventually got her Seal perforator. It's probably sitting on her coffee table.)
 
I have heard horror stories about that company, and won't do business with them. (one of the stores is nearby)

A friend recently cancelled a 2900.00 order with them when I made them aware of a $400 Dell deal, which had more included than the $2900 machine
 
Janet, I wish you'd told me you were going to dump it. We could have sung harmony, like the Staple Singers...@^#%$%#^ Gateway!!
 
Sorry Charlie, but I was too excited to put together a party w/us as the entertainment! And, you know I can't carry a tune in a bucket, so I really didn't want any spectators!
 
At one time, I think Gateway had a reputation for great service. I almost ordered a PC from them with 25 MHz and a huge 40 meg hard drive!

That was a long time ago. A true computer guru I knew asked me what I needed with that much speed and drive space. He wasn't being sarcastic.

Just goes to show how times - and companies - can change. I remember when Regal Crown Industries (Mat Maestro/iMat) was a GREAT company.
 
I must be the lonely satisfied customer. Any of the support I used was great, but then I was an early bird and that was just before everything went over the pond. No offense Dermot. Enuf said.
 
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