Packard Bell
| Packard Bell
|
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|---|---|
 |
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| legal form | BV |
| founding | 1926 |
| Seat | Wijchen , Netherlands |
| Branch | IT provider |
| Website | www.packardbell.com |
Packard Bell [ ˈpækəd 'beɫ ] (abbreviation: PB ) is a manufacturer of electronic products for home users . According to the market research institute International Data Corporation , Packard Bell was the third largest European manufacturer of desktop PCs for consumers and the sixth largest manufacturer of notebooks at the end of the second quarter of 2006 . In addition to these two main areas, Packard Bell offers MP3 players , liquid crystal screens , external hard drives , DVD players and recorders, and other peripheral devices .
history
The company was founded in Los Angeles in 1926 by Herbert A. Bell and Leon S. Packard in the USA as a radio manufacturer . With these products, the company grew rapidly and earned a good reputation. In World War II belonged radios Packard Bell of standard equipment for the US Army. After the war ended, the company successfully entered the booming television market.
The Teledyne company bought Packard Bell in 1968. With this acquisition, Teledyne gained influence in the financially strong military sector and Packard Bell's products became increasingly geared towards it. Eventually the brand went completely under the name Teledyne and disappeared from the market.
The brand name was not used again until 1986. The investor Beny Alagem correctly recognized the market potential of home computers and bought the Teledyne brand name , which is still well known in the USA , in order to produce inexpensive computers for the mass market under the name Packard Bell. Packard Bell was one of the first brands to sell IBM- compatible computers through specialist retail chains. With this strategy, Packard Bell asserted itself successfully in the market for many years and was sold worldwide.
Ten years later, in 1996, Beny Alagem sold Packard Bell to Zenith Data Systems , but remained Managing Director of Packard Bell. Zenith Data Systems in turn belonged to the French computer manufacturer Bull , in which the Japanese electronics group NEC Corporation was involved. As a result of this merger, Packard Bell now had strong financial backing, the company expanded and was able to sell around 3.2 million desktop PCs in the USA in the same year. In terms of market share, Packard Bell was number two in this market after Compaq . Packard Bell lost the ensuing price war, primarily with Compaq and later eMachines , two years later. Beny Alagem resigned and the brand ultimately withdrew completely from the US market in 2000.
Packard Bell currently serves markets in Europe, Asia and part of Africa and is also active in South America. The brand has secured large market shares in the consumer segment in particular in Europe, primarily France, Great Britain, the Benelux countries and Germany.
Today Packard Bell is headquartered in Wijchen , the Netherlands . The company was sold in 2006 to Lap Shun (John) Hui, founder of the US computer company eMachines and co-owner of Gateway . In 2007, Lenovo first expressed its interest in acquiring Packard Bell. In October 2007, Acer acquired Gateway and Gateway exercised its right of first refusal on Packard Bell. Packard Bell is now part of Acer . Aymar de Lencquesaing is the President and CEO of Packard Bell. The administration is based in Angers , near Nantes .
Germany
In Germany, Packard Bell is represented by Packard Bell Deutschland GmbH. The company is based in Ahrensburg . From there, the sales channels in Germany and Austria are served and marketing is controlled. Maarten de Haas has been the managing director since 2009.