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Hardware

Gateway To Close All Retail Stores 324

Posted by simoniker from the climbing-a-gateway-to-heaven dept.
John Lazzaro writes "Looks like Gateway is throwing in the towel and closing all of its remaining retail stores, according to a Reuters/Yahoo! report." The story notes: "Gateway's stores, which will be closed on April 9, have long been criticized by analysts and investors as an expensive drag on cash flow because of lease costs and the difficulty of managing inventories", and goes on to suggest: "...with [the acquisition of] eMachines, Gateway doesn't necessarily need the added distribution channel the stores gave the company. In addition to selling Gateway's wares over the phone and via the Internet, eMachines PCs are sold at major retailers such as Best Buy."
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Gateway To Close All Retail Stores More

Gateway To Close All Retail Stores

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  • Who needs... (Score:4, Funny)

    by Ieshan ( 409693 ) <ieshan@g[ ]l.com ['mai' in gap]> on Thursday April 01, 2004 @09:19PM (#8743097) Homepage Journal
    Who needs April Fools when you've got capitalism?

    Tee hee!

  • Gateway is Dying! (Score:4, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 01, 2004 @09:20PM (#8743100)
    First funny story all day, because it's true!
    • because it's true!

      Unfortantely, your subject line isn't. Gateway is shuttering the store chain because they don't need it anymore... eMachines has more than enough retail distribution.

      • Re:Gateway is Dying! (Score:2, Interesting)

        by macmaniac ( 734596 )
        If Gateway's local store is any indicator, they were having a little trouble getting people into the stores. They had a store on a very busy street, in a busy plaza, yet never had more than a few people in the store at any point in time except their opening a fe years ago.

        Couldn't have helped their sales when they briefly partnered with OfficeMax stores, one of which is across the street from the Gateway Country store.

        LostCluster is correct, though, eMachines has a much larger retail distribution chain se

    • Not Funny Mods (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 01, 2004 @09:45PM (#8743252)
      People getting fired in an already bad economy isn't funny

      • Re:Not Funny Mods (Score:5, Interesting)

        by MillionthMonkey ( 240664 ) on Friday April 02, 2004 @12:25AM (#8744145)
        Why worry about the jobs situation? You don't need a job. A rise in GDP means the economy is "better" [theatlantic.com]. So we all win!

        And GDP is delicious, and nutritious. I'm eating fried GDP with Jobless Recovery hot sauce, and this weekend it's GDP with Consumer Confidence Index noodles, followed by GDP pie. And it's Atkins friendly (no carbos)!

        Just kidding. I'm not having my GDP and eating it too, although I hear from 1% of the population that it is very good.

  • The reason why (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 01, 2004 @09:20PM (#8743101)
    They need the resources to open stores in India. All the people they're paying to do tech support need somewhere to buy computers.

  • Teh funny (Score:3, Funny)

    by LocoSpitz ( 175100 ) on Thursday April 01, 2004 @09:23PM (#8743118)
    April Fools! Ha ha ha! ...eliminate about 2,500 retail jobs...

    Oh.

    • Ouch. (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Rick and Roll ( 672077 ) on Thursday April 01, 2004 @09:39PM (#8743220)
      Finding out on April Fool's day that you've lost your job is not fun. But, when you think about it, there aren't any times that are any better. At least when the jobs are actually gone will be start of the summer, which is in many ways a good time to move.

      The closing isn't surprising at all. To sell at a store like this, you need to have a more attractive product. Gateway had the Profile, which was not a good product. It saved space, but it performed poorly, and was not designed to be easily maintained. It was similar to the iPaq in these respects, and neither succeeded. They failed to attract certain market segments that made the iMac popular, namely education.

      Besides that, all they had were a bunch of run-of-the mill computers. Their company really did not have much vision. And when they made an interesting move (acquiring Amiga or saying that DRM is bad), they didn't follow through with it.

      The future of Gateway looks pretty bleak. I think in this move they are probably looking to be acquired. They have never really got it. Trying to show vision, and then turning their back on that vision. Poor service, trying to undersell, not finding a customer base.

      • The future of Gateway looks pretty bleak. I think in this move they are probably looking to be acquired.

        In some ways this is a reverse merger. The eMachines CEO and founder is replacing Gateway founder Ted Waitt. The headquarters are moving from suburban San Diego to Orange County, CA near eMachine's current Irvine, CA headquarters. It looks like the visonaries and operational efficiencies of eMachines are pushing to the top to save the company.
        • Mergers...

          Mergers have a very destructive effect upon the corporate culture. They cause immediate infighting and backstabbing on the management level. If you ever though management was worthless, you will find out their true value when they all completely stop doing their jobs and start with full time politics.

          gateway might be a stock to watch on the downside.
      • Just an addendum to your note on the timing of the job cuts, I would note that the bulk of the people cut will be "sales associates" (read: "register monkeys"). I don't think it's that big a crisis losing a few minimum-wage (or nearly minimum) jobs. There's always an opening in a McDonald's or Burger King. In the long run, it's actually a good thing (even in the area of unemployment) since Gateway will, presumably, be a healthier company after the move.

  • Moo (Score:3, Funny)

    by TheJavaGuy ( 725547 ) on Thursday April 01, 2004 @09:23PM (#8743127) Homepage
    Back to the barn. Moo

  • Now I have to wonder (Score:5, Funny)

    by CrkHead ( 27176 ) on Thursday April 01, 2004 @09:23PM (#8743129)
    If their decision to fire me last month had anything to do with this...

    • Re:Now I have to wonder (Score:5, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 01, 2004 @09:42PM (#8743239)
      If their decision to fire me last month had anything to do with this...
      Nah. You were laid off because your boss saw you posting to Slashdot as "CrkHead."
    • If they were letting you go because they were shutting down operations they would have told you. The reason they gave you was the real reason. If they didn't give you any reason then they probably know something you think they don't know but don't want to start a major issue by confronting the specific issue. And this isn't it. In Arizona it's a right to work state so if the company suspects something about you but can't prove it they can simply fire you without giving a reason.

      "If their decision to fi

  • Don't worry retailers, we're getting out... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by LostCluster ( 625375 ) * on Thursday April 01, 2004 @09:24PM (#8743131)
    The Gateway Store was mainly a "showroom" environment because Gateway's main product is a made-to-order PC. Gateway could never get into a Best Buy or Circuit City environment because they didn't want to cheapen their customizable image by providing computers that would sit on shelves. Meanwhile, eMachines is the sit-on-the-shelf cheap PC that you can find at Best Buy and Circuit City along with discount environments such as Wal-Mart.

    Shutting down the stores is more or less a nod to the retail chains that they can have eMachines all to themselves, and there's no danger of having to compete with eMachines coming out of a Gateway Country store. Even if those eMachines PCs had a "Gateway" sticker on them, it'd still be just as bad to the retailers... they don't like suppliers who are trying to undercut them by operating their own retail stores.

    This is one of the forces that limits Apple's distribution. Apple choses to sell mostly directly and therefore they aren't making much of a push to get themselves into major retail chains... Since Wal-Mart can't undercut Apple's prices, Wal-Mart's not particularly interested in having Apple.

    So, there's a nice firm wall going up at Gateway. Made-to-order PCs will be ordered by phone or Internet and be stamped Gateway, mass-made machines will be in retail stores and called eMachines. Everybody should be happy...

    • Apple and major retail chains (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Infonaut ( 96956 ) <infonaut@gmail.com> on Thursday April 01, 2004 @09:55PM (#8743321) Homepage Journal
      "This is one of the forces that limits Apple's distribution. Apple choses to sell mostly directly and therefore they aren't making much of a push to get themselves into major retail chains... Since Wal-Mart can't undercut Apple's prices, Wal-Mart's not particularly interested in having Apple."

      I think you're confusing cause and effect here. Apple chose to go direct precisely because their forays into big box retail had been so unsuccessful. BestBuy, Circuit City, Computer City, Office Max, Sears - Apple has tried them all. In every case Apple's products were marginalized by big-box salespeople who didn't know the first thing about Apple technology and had no interest in learning about it.

      Apple's retail presence is far greater now that they control presentation of their products. They've selected marquee locations and they showcase Apple products "in the wild" so customers can play with Macs, digital video cameras, add-on devices, and so on.

      Wal-Mart was founded on deep price discounting. Volume of sales for already established commodity products is their bread and butter. Wal-Mart is, as you pointed out, not interested in getting into a business where they can't undercut the competition. Apple is likewise uninterested in making a deal with Wal-Mart, because they'd rapidly lose control over the value of the Apple brand.

      • Don't forget that in the big box retail stores, Apple was often going up against lower priced PCs in the next aisle. If you don't know anything about computers, those Macs looked nice and may have gotten you in the store, but damn that PC across from it was an awful lot less and had rows of boxes of software sitting behind it.

      • I think you're confusing cause and effect here. Apple chose to go direct precisely because their forays into big box retail had been so unsuccessful.

        I'm sure that not cutting the dealers in on the profit was a part of their motive too. Apple fucked their dealers our of the lucrative educational market, which contributed to Apple losing their lock on that market.

        Apple's method of business doesn't work well in big retail. For big retail, the name of the game is volume discounts and lower prices than the co
    • The Air Force used to buy Gateways, now we buy Microns.
    • Actually, Gateway hasn't done a true made to order system in some time. They use a pre-built SKU system of computers with commmon loadouts and changes. This has been around for a good 8-10 months now.

      Gateway has been selling their PCs through retail channels for some time, such as Costco, Sam's Club, OfficeMax, etc. This move has a lot more to do with worries of Best Buy selling a competitors product. Gateway is trying to positiion themselves in a way to get their Consumer Electronics products right alongs

    • "Custom" PC's (Score:3, Insightful)

      by nonameisgood ( 633434 )
      Let's not fool ourselves into thinking that Gateway knows things we don't about how to plug in a PCI card or install a HDD.

      They failed to underestimate the "I want it now" of customers. If they want to wait, they will order online for a few dollars less.

      It would have worked if they had put a single, well-trained tech in every store to "customize" your box (the computer you pervs), and boom, you're out the door with a custom Gateway PC in 15 minutes. If you want a burn-in, pick it up tommorrow.

      Or is a f
    • Damn right emachines is cheap
      Last week my uncle bought a 2 ghz AMD, cd-r, dvd-rom, and 40gig harddrive and 17" monitor emachine for 350$ after rebates.
      It was too damn good to pass up.

  • Confirmed: Not an April Fools Joke (Score:5, Informative)

    by Nova Express ( 100383 ) <lawrenceperson.gmail@com> on Thursday April 01, 2004 @09:24PM (#8743133) Homepage Journal
    Or if it is, it's also mentioned on their web page [gateway.com].

    Although Apple seems to be doing quite well in retail, Gateway was losing money hand-over fist. (Gee, think that could have anything to do with quality?)

    My prediction: Either they merge with another company or they'll be out of business within two years.

    • Re:Confirmed: Not an April Fools Joke (Score:5, Insightful)

      by LostCluster ( 625375 ) * on Thursday April 01, 2004 @09:27PM (#8743152)
      Although Apple seems to be doing quite well in retail, Gateway was losing money hand-over fist. (Gee, think that could have anything to do with quality?)

      Nah, more to do with uniqueness. You've got to go through Apple to get a Macintosh that runs OSX... but anybody can make sell you a PC running Windows. Apple therefore can keep tighter control over their retail prices, while an undercut from a competitor can force a PC maker to lower prices.

  • It's worked for Dell (Score:2, Interesting)

    by thoth ( 7907 )
    Dell doesn't have any retail outlets, or even sell computers in the usual chains, so Gateway isn't necessarily doomed...

    but I don't think Gateway's build-to-order system is as well running as Dell's.
    • ...as well running as Dell's
      Can we please stop it with the stupid April fools jokes.

    • Dell Has stores too (Score:2, Informative)

      by bgleason ( 592331 )
      Dell has stores in about ten states.

      No idea if they're profitable though.

      http://www1.us.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic. as px/kiosk?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs
    • Dell has started opening Dell Direct Stores [dell.com] in malls. These are more of a kiosk than a full-sized store. Like Gateway's stores these are order-to-build stores, not take it home stores like Best Buy.

    • Re:It's worked for Dell (Score:5, Interesting)

      by retto ( 668183 ) on Thursday April 01, 2004 @09:51PM (#8743293)

      Dell has a number of mall kiosks, at least around here in Ohio. They have more a seasonal focus tho. If you want to order anything, you use the PC on display to go to the website. One or two people sit there and answer the typical first PC buyer questions.

      You can't really compare Dell to Gateway. Dell has a very different image, expecially in the business market. Gateway made a big push into the small business market, but much isn't heard about that anymore. If you don't have that big cash cow of business desktops and mid-range servers, don't have a great rep in the high-margin digital media and gamer marked, and can't bundle lots of services and financing, there aren't a lot of places left to carve out a niche without having to carve it out of a competitor. I think Emachines will become the new brand image, in stores like Best Buy and CompUSA, going after the lower end market under HP and Sony.

      You have to wonder what is going to happen to the Gateway plasma TVs. That was really the only reason to go to a Gateway store (they have no real brand image or must-have products like Apple, or the fans either). If they could get those in stores and use it as leverage in package with a gateway based DVR system, they may get some where.

    • While in the beginning their equipment was beyond dismal ( anyone remember the melting laptops from about 15 years ago?? )..

      They have steadily improved this over the years to where they are now a viable business choice.

      Gateway hasn't done this...

  • not suprising if you'd ever been in one (Score:5, Informative)

    by brentlaminack ( 513462 ) on Thursday April 01, 2004 @09:24PM (#8743137) Homepage Journal
    I've been in gateway stores a time or two. They were almost completely useless. If you wanted a price on particular configuration, the sales droids directed you to an internet-connected machine where you could go to the gateway web site and get a price quote. Duh... I could have done that from home.

    When I asked them about Linux, or a machine without an O/S, I was told "Microsoft won't let us do that." Double Duh.

    In short, it was about the most useless showroom experience I've had in a long time. Gateway will lose nothing by shutting these turkeys (cows?) down.

    • They served a couple main purposes, both very useful to those so inclined:

      1. local repairs - take your pc needing a repair or an upgrade to your local Gateway Country; better than juggling DHL packages from Dell

      2. try before you buy - when I was shopping for laptops, I checked out my local Gateway Country to try them out. In this case, I decided on a Dell, but the experience sure helped.
      • #1 -- Local repairs -- blech. I took in a business class machine needing a motherboard replacement. They sat on it for 15 days before I could get the machine back. No offer to provide a substitute machine until the replacement was made.

        I've had issues with Dells, IBMs, HPs, etc on business class machines. I call them up, next morning, early AM I receive the part, I am able to swap it out onsite and get the computer back up adn running within 24 hours.

        Perhaps if Gateway didn't have their stores, they might
    • I'm too lazy to provide links but they're readilly available through simple googling around Mac related news sites, like MacSurfer.com.

      Anyhow, there's some litigation that's brought up by some Apple resellers as to how Apple handles it's accounting regarding it's own Apple stores.

      It would seem that Apple basically hands Apple software to their AppleStore for the mere cost of shipping so that the stores can boost it's revenu figures by racking all the profits under it's balance sheet.

      Not like a big scanda
    • Yes, the sales folks there are totally worthless. I wanted to try out the web-tablets to see if they might be useful for our clinicians at work. I didn't know anything about them when I went in, but ended up teaching the staff there how to use them since they let me bring in a CD with our in-house application to try out. They didn't know what the features were or how to use them until I showed them. Not exactly the folks you want giving you advice on what machine to buy... The staff was worthless, but y
    • In the dotcom days, We bought 50 desktops and two servers from them preloaded with Redhat. One of the servers had a bad load, and when we called tech support we were told that Gateway does not support third party software!

      Since Gateway is not in the the software business, I took it to mean that they were a subsidiary of Microsoft. It took numerous calls to our "account executive" and threats of legal action to get it straight.

  • Its about time (Score:4, Insightful)

    by pete6677 ( 681676 ) on Thursday April 01, 2004 @09:27PM (#8743154)
    What exactly could those stores accomplish that could not be done with a kiosk in a shopping mall (kind of like their biggest competitor [dell.com])? Like the article said, they were simply a money drain and keeping inventory in the store kind of defeats the purpose of the build to order model. Now if only Dell would get out of the super-saturated consumer electronics market and we just might see Dell and Gateway going back to competing to build the best computers (wishful thinking, I know).
  • ...the Gateway chain of supermarkets in the UK (i.e. that sell food n stuff, not computers).

    Oh, you weren't.

  • HA HA HA HA Your fired!!! April Fools! NOT!!!!!

    Here is the press release [gateway.com]

    This also proves that Slashdot is no longer a joke.

    Oh....wait....

  • Understandable, but.... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by EngMedic ( 604629 ) on Thursday April 01, 2004 @09:31PM (#8743176) Homepage
    This is understandable, i suppose, as you can keep more profit without the overhead associated with brick n' mortar stores, but still, the stores had a use.
    I remember trying to help my dad buy his next computer, and it really helped for me to be able to take him to the store and for him to physically see the computer he was going to buy. While large computer outfits can do this too, it was better, conceptually, for him to go to a store that only had one brand of computer, and they weren't all in the back next to shelves of accessories and idiot salesmen (like at CompUSA or Fry's.)
    Especially for the over 45 crowd, adoption of internet-based sales can be a little discomforting. While i haven't a problem with it, Gateway's target audience just might.
    • Especially for the over 45 crowd, adoption of internet-based sales can be a little discomforting

      Hey there, sonny.

      I was typing a clever response to this when Clippy popped-up and said: "The fingers you are typing with are too old. Please rap the keyboard with the handle of your cane and I'll try to provide you with helpful information."

      Suddenly uncertain, frightened and nervous, I do so. What do I get? A bunch of weblinks for Depends, hearing aids, Viagra, and some kind of loud, annoying automotive acc

  • Gateway can be tax free again (Score:4, Interesting)

    by zakezuke ( 229119 ) on Thursday April 01, 2004 @09:31PM (#8743178)
    I imagine that part of the choice to close retail shops is the simple fact that you have to pay tax in states that you have a retail presence in. On a $400 pc, this could be easily $40.00 in taxes even if you mail order it. If you buy it local, that's great, but if you buy it via mail order, you get stuck with shipping and tax. This can really add up for those who buy their more premium solutions via mail order.
    • This can really add up for those who buy their more premium solutions via mail order.

      However, this doesn't make their business offerings any more attractive, since every state that has a sales tax also has a use tax. The Fifth Amendment makes it awfully hard to extract use tax from an individual, but businesses enjoy no such protection...
    • Except that Gateway has its headquarters in California, where sales taxes are pretty high. I never quite figured out why they moved here from South Dakota, where taxes are lower and it generally costs less to operate. I guess they were just tired of the cold.

      • Re:Gateway can be tax free again (Score:4, Interesting)

        by jht ( 5006 ) on Thursday April 01, 2004 @10:19PM (#8743437) Homepage Journal
        The California offices are a legacy of their last major acquisition before eMachines - ALR. Gateway bought ALR back around the mid-90's in order to kickstart themselves into the server market. I think someone decided that they'd be more of an industry "player" if they were in California, where all the action supposedly was. That and I think Ted Waitt was sick of shovelling snow.

        What's kind of interesting is that at one time, Gateway and Dell (back around when Dell was still called PCs Limited) were roughly equal competitors, selling virtually all their computers through ads in computer magazines and 800 numbers. Gateway futzed around, buying companies, opening retail stores, and being relatively late to the Internet. Meanwhile, Dell focused on squeezing every nickel out of the supply chain, minimizing inventory, and embracing the Internet early as a sales tool.

        (Ironic note - Dell built their original e-commerce site using Apple's WebObjects)

        As a result, Dell is now the biggest PC maker on the planet, and Gateway is, well, Gateway. They are the perennially beleaguered PC company that most people accuse Apple of being.

  • This is sad (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Omega1045 ( 584264 ) on Thursday April 01, 2004 @09:37PM (#8743207)
    I had a client who would not switch to Dell or anyone else becuase there was a Gateway store near his house. I have HATED Gateway for years because of several bad experiences with them. Even after relating these to him, he would not switch his company to Dell because of that store. Well, I guess he just lost his reason.

    • Re:This is sad (Score:5, Informative)

      by Gojira Shipi-Taro ( 465802 ) on Thursday April 01, 2004 @09:59PM (#8743337) Homepage
      I hear ya on the bad experiences w/ Gateway. Back around early 1995, I ran the computer systems for a college book store. We bought a Gateway 386 to run Office and a VBA based app that I wrote for the managers to input the register tapes into, which would do all the department breakdowns, and associated work, and fax a report to headquarters.

      Problem was, this machine couldn't run Windows 3.1 in 386 Enhanced mode. I had had a similar problem with a computer that I owned, and knew that this had to do with a faulty keyboard controller or circuits associated with it. Address Line 20 on the keyboard controller was actually used to switch between Protected and Enhanced mode on the 386. I related this information to Gateway tech support, and recieved incredulous reactions, assurances that such a thing was impossible, and no help whatsoever.

      Shortly after the warrenty ran out, Gateway admitted that there was a fault in the keyboard controller that was causing our problem. They refused to make good, even though I had given them the answer months before, and insisted on charging for the motherboard swap. My boss at the time was not particularly clueful about these things, and declined to press the matter.

      I, being a student at the time had to console myself with informing the manager of Gateway Customer service that "as long as I live, Gateway will never see another fucking cent from any person or company who comes to me for advice on computers. Enjoy that $200 fee, because it's going to cost you tens of thousands of dollars in lost sales" (and has).

      Some grudges are worth holding ;)
    • Last place I worked one of the staff went off on his own and bought a Gateway laptop without giving me the opportunity to tell him not to. We could never get it talking to the only database he NEEDed for his department, so he got the company's shittiest spare laptop to use for database access.

  • where am i gonna check my email on the road? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by victorvodka ( 597971 ) on Thursday April 01, 2004 @09:37PM (#8743212) Homepage
    Seriously, I used to check my email at Gateway stores all the time. Now it's going to be hard to find a place. Try checking your email at a Radio Shack to see what I mean. They freak the moment you navigate off the Radio Shack website, screaming that they "hear about it" from the main office whenever this happens.
  • http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT= 105&STORY=/www/story/04-01-2004/0002139696 [prnewswire.com]

    POWAY, Calif., April 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Gateway, Inc. (NYSE: GTW) said today that after reviewing strategic options for its network of 188 company-operated retail stores, it is planning to close the stores on April 9. Gateway also said it is pursuing wider retail distribution of its products in the U.S. and abroad. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020930/LAM05 0LOGO ) The company will continue direct sales of Gateway products to consumers and businesses via http://www.gateway.com and 1-800-Gateway. As a result of Gateway's decision, approximately 2,500 retail positions will be eliminated during the month of April as store operations wind down. Gateway will provide more detail on its brand and channel strategies, as well as any revenue and cost implications of closing the stores, when it announces its first quarter financial results April 29.

  • One of the reasons I bought a Dell is that by not having retail outlets, there was an 8+% savings over same-priced Gateway models. With stores in-state, Gateway had to charge sales tax to ship here.

    So is eMachines a separate-enough entity that Gateway no longer has a 'physical presence'?

    Meanwhile, Dell has a kiosk at a local mall. I didn't get close enough to see if they were actually selling there. But I just checked at Dell, and now their site collects my state's tax.
  • You may recall that the Amiga's owners for almost a decade, Commodore, went spectacularly bankrupt. The Amiga was bought by ESCOM, who then went bankrupt. Then Gateway bought the Amiga, but sold it on before becoming bankrupt... is the Amiga's curse about to take another victim?

  • no its true (Score:4, Informative)

    by ForestGrump ( 644805 ) on Thursday April 01, 2004 @09:49PM (#8743283) Homepage Journal
    i just called gateway store in Corona, CA.

    Talked to some guy, and he said yea, theyre closing. Should have a big sale, but doesnt know when.

    I'm gonna call back saturday and see..
    hope i can score some cheap shit!

    -Grump
  • Wasn't Gateway the first to offer the $3000 42-inch plasma TV? [gateway.com] I know that the gateway store near my house has a couple of these suckers on display. If they're closing the store, maybe I can get a good deal on the display models...

    *de-computers, runs to store....*
    • Just remember... that $3000 plasma is only EDTV, ***not*** HDTV. It's not worth it, IMO. Hold out for cheaper HDTVs.

    • Re:forget the PC's... (Score:3, Informative)

      by slaker ( 53818 )
      $3000 will also buy a brilliant 42" Samsung DLP monitor, which actually supports HDTV resolutions (the gateway display is EDTV-only), has more video inputs and doesn't burn in or ultimately leak the contents of its screen into open atmosphere.
  • the country stores didn't really make sense in a lot of areas around the US, people look for computers at big stores like best buy or good guys, or look online. Gateway will now compete in both places(thanks to emachines), and not have to rent a bunch of storefronts to cater to only a few passer bys each day. Those stores required quite a few employees to operate, and didn't generate a lot of business, except in places like New York or Manhattan where those type of stores are popular.(I bet they will keep

  • Ah, the memories (Score:4, Interesting)

    by vga_init ( 589198 ) on Thursday April 01, 2004 @10:09PM (#8743380) Journal
    You know, I remember when the first Gateway store opened around here, and it was a big event! People flocked from miles around to gape at the amazingly fast new home computers running Windows 98. They even had a real cow outside of the store to comemorate it--no really! People thought Gateway was cool back then, but now...well, maybe it's for the best!
  • ...will disgruntled customers take their lemon Gateway PCs to smash them? [theregister.co.uk]

    ~Philly

  • Saw Gateway at Costco this morning (Score:4, Informative)

    by rjamestaylor ( 117847 ) <rjamestaylor@gmail.com> on Thursday April 01, 2004 @10:20PM (#8743446) Journal
    Weird. There was a $16xx P4 3.0GHz with an ok LCD monitor next to a Sony, HP and a eMachine. Comes with MS Office tools but only Word and MS Works (icky). I went into a Gateway store once, in 1999 iirc, looking for a cable for my 1997 Gateway2000 P5/200MMX. Ha! What a mistake! There's no parts just sample machines and sales people offering to help you fill out a credit app. So, feeling dumb for thinking I could get parts for my Gateway (how stupid could I be?) I pretended REALLY to be interested in a new laptop:
    • "Oh, forget the cable, I was really looking for a laptop like that one, can I see? Oooh. Nice. Ah. Color? Neat. Hmmm. Say I could use something like that -- say how's the screen in bright light, I notice that it's rather dark in here."

    • It's great -- how do you spell your mother's maiden name?

      "Could we remove it from the shackle for a minute and take it near the window to get an idea?"

      Sorry, we're not allowed to do that -- its against our security policy. Do you rent or own?

      "No, no, I don't want to take it OUTSIDE, just over near the, er, tinted *sigh* window to get an idea how...

      "Will you want a printer with your purchase?"

    What we had there was a failure to communicate.

    So, good bye Gateway Stores -- you sucked and we're better off without you.

  • Gateway is trying to diversify into consumer electronics: Televisions, MP3 players, and so forth. This seems like a good idea to me, since competing with Dell on PCs is difficult.

    After the Gateway stores close down, how will they peddle their consumer electronics? Unlike PCs, customers want to see and hear these products perform.
  • If this were Apple closing all it stores it would be a gloom and doom story of how the death of Apple is near.

    While Gateway who has been losing money as fast as Donald Trump is losing hair gets a positive spin on their story.

    How about a little bit of the truth in the article! It would be nice to read how Gateway is teetering on the brink and about how Dell has beat them to within an inch of their lives. Gateway would have a hard time giving its computers away!

  • Adjectives of Doom Scale. (Score:5, Funny)

    by Basehart ( 633304 ) on Thursday April 01, 2004 @10:37PM (#8743512)
    At what point do Gateway become Beleagured?

    They've been described as being Troubled for a while and I was wondering if there's a scale of adjectives that journalists use to describe how deep in shit a company is.

    If I remember rightly Apple went straight to Beleagured status almost overnight, and stayed that way for around five years!

  • What about the computing grid? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by shodson ( 179450 ) on Thursday April 01, 2004 @10:41PM (#8743533) Homepage
    Gateway was reselling CPU time on the PCs showroom PCs in all of their stores for companies to use as a private computing grid. So what happens to the grid? Do they just put all of the PCs that were in the stores in a warehouse and run the grid there? They just signed a new customer a few weeks ago. [gridcomputingplanet.com]
  • I think I may just swing by my local Gateway Country store and see if there any 'open box' values to be had. I suggest you do the same!

  • I saw this coming... (Score:4, Informative)

    by ddrang ( 661036 ) on Friday April 02, 2004 @02:30AM (#8744654)
    ...over two years ago.

    I worked for a software company in California, and I was asked to purchase a PC for an emergency programming job. Our usual supplier took over a week to get a PC, and I remembered seeing the Gateway store on my way to work.

    Thinking the Gateway might be a cut above the HP Pavilion or something I would get at Best Buy I drove over there. There were about 3 people looking at computers -- one was getting a demo of something by a sales person -- a pretty empty store.

    It took me 3 minutes to walk around and peruse the various models, and then 10 more to get a sales rep to talk to me.

    I pointed at a PC and told him I wanted to get one and asked for a price. When he told me it would take a week to get the PC, I was floored.

    "You don't have any computers to sell here???"
    "No."
    "What's in all these cow-boxes you have along the windows?"
    "They're empty."
    "So what do you sell here?"
    "Well, you can order one here. The store is so that customers can come in and try the machines out and match their needs to the PC."
    "But I can order one from home with a couple of mouse-clicks!"

    He didn't have much of an answer for that. I drove on to Best Buy and got the Pavilion.

    I remember thinking that GW was crazy to open all these stores just so people could look and touch (but not take!) the machines. Expensive real-estate too -- all the stores I saw were in very high-rent areas.

    Maybe Inouye can keep Waitt's expensive schemes in check and keep the company afloat....

  • They got what they wanted out of E-Machines (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Halvard ( 102061 ) on Friday April 02, 2004 @08:49AM (#8745651)

    Distribution channels at retail without a lot of work. Large retail outlets like Costco. I suspect that Costco sells a lot of PCs. I don't know what E-Machines profitibility of late, but they started with a very lean infrastructure. Few people --the ceo/founder, a secretary and about 17 sales people-- and contract builds by KDS and ??? in Korea with drop shipping to the retail outlet directly.

    Gateway could use some cash management skills and a method of being profitable. Retail is likely the only way in the near future they are going to get it since Dell, Tiger, IBM and HP aren't going way any time soon and seem much better run. The E-Machines model gives them that.

    I'd say this is a hell of a lot better move than when NEC mergered with Packard Bell. That still makes me shudder.

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