Packard Bell: Difference between revisions
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{{short description|American computer company (1986–2008)}} |
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[[Image:Packard Bell.gif|thumb|Current corporate logo]] |
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{{for|the Packard Bell company active from the 1920s to 1968|Packard Bell Corporation}} |
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{{Infobox brand|name=Packard Bell|logo=File:PBlogo.png|image=|caption=|producttype=|currentowner=Southern Telecom, Inc. <small>(U.S. and Canada)</small>|country=[[United States]] <small>(until 2000, since 2014)</small><br>[[Netherlands]] <small>(formerly)</small>|introduced=1986|markets=Computer industry|previousowners={{plainlist| |
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* Packard Bell Electronics, Inc. (1986–1996) |
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* [[NEC Corporation]] (1996–2006) |
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* PB Holdings Co. (2006–2008) |
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* [[Acer, Inc.]] (2008–2014) |
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}}|website=|logo_caption=Current logo as used by Southern Telecom}} |
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{{Infobox company |
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| name = Packard Bell Electronics, Inc. |
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| former_name = {{ubl|Packard Bell Electronics, Inc. (1986–1996)|Packard Bell NEC, Inc. (1996–1999)|NEC Computers International [[Besloten vennootschap|BV]] (1999–2006)|PB Holdings [[Company|Co.]] (2006–2008)}} |
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| logo = <nowiki></nowiki> |
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| logo_caption = |
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| type = {{ubl|Private (1986–1994, 2006–2008)|[[Subsidiary]] (1994–2006)}} |
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| foundation = {{start date and age|1986}} in [[Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California]] |
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| founder = {{ubl|[[Beny Alagem]]|Jason Barzilay|Alex Sandel}} |
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| location_city = {{ubl|Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California (1986–1994)|[[Westlake Village, California]] (1994–1995)|[[Sacramento, California]] (1995–1999)|[[Wijchen]], Netherlands (1993–2007)|[[Nijmegen]], Netherlands (2007–)<ref>{{cite web | last=Staff writer | date=May 11, 2007 | url=https://www.gelderlander.nl/nijmegen/afgeslankt-packard-bell-van-wijchen-naar-nijmegen~aea61322 | title=Afgeslankt Packard Bell van Wijchen naar Nijmegen | trans-title=Downsized Packard Bell from Wijchen to Nijmegen | work=de Gelderlander | lang=nl | publisher=DPG Media | archiveurl=https://archive.today/20241016193409/https://www.gelderlander.nl/nijmegen/afgeslankt-packard-bell-van-wijchen-naar-nijmegen~aea61322/ | archivedate=October 16, 2024}}</ref>}} |
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| industry = Computer |
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| parent = [[NEC]] (1994–2006) |
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| defunct = {{end date and age|1994|07|15}}<ref>{{cite web | last=Fukuchi | first=Ken | author2=Akiko Shikimori | author3=Chris Shimizu | date=July 15, 1996 | url=http://www.nec.co.jp/press/en/9607/1501.html | title=Agreement Concluded Between Packard Bell and NEC on Merger of Worldwide PC Operations | publisher=NEC Corporation | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20020218084643/http://www.nec.co.jp/press/en/9607/1501.html | archivedate=February 18, 2002}}</ref><br>{{end date and age|2008|02}} |
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| fate = Acquired by [[NEC]] (1994)<br>Acquired by [[Acer Inc.]] (2008) |
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}} |
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'''Packard Bell''' is a [[personal computer]] hardware brand which originated as '''Packard Bell Electronics, Inc.''', an independent American computer company founded in [[Los Angeles]] in 1986 by Israeli-American investors who bought the trademark rights to the historic [[Packard Bell Corporation]] from [[Teledyne Technologies|Teledyne]]; in spite of similarities in their names, Packard Bell has no connection to either [[Hewlett-Packard]] or [[Bell System]]. |
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'''Packard Bell''' ('''PB''') was an American [[radio]] manufacturer, founded in 1933, in Los Angeles, that later became a dickfucker. |
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Packard Bell helped to pioneer the [[mass market]] for PCs in the United States by selling in big office stores. In the early 1990s, the company entered the European market and opened its regional headquarters in [[Wijchen]], [[Netherlands]], in 1993. By this time, they had become the second largest OEM for [[IBM PC–compatible|IBM PC–compatibles]] in the U.S.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Packard Bell opens European headquarters in Netherlands |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1993/05/20/Packard-Bell-opens-European-headquarters-in-Netherlands/3046737870400/ |access-date=2024-09-30 |website=UPI.org | publisher=United Press International |language=en}}</ref> Packard Bell merged its operations with Japanese electronics conglomerate [[NEC]], known as Packard Bell NEC, in 1996; NEC took majority control in 1998 and made it a [[subsidiary]].<ref>{{cite journal | last=Hamilton | first=David P. | date=August 3, 1998 | url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB901862812341991500 | title=NEC to Infuse Additional $225 Million in Packard Bell for Controlling Stake | work=The Wall Street Journal | publisher=Dow Jones & Company | page=B5 | archiveurl= | archivedate=}} {{ProQuest|398766901}}.</ref> |
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In 1986, [[Beny Alagem]] and a group of investors bought the Packard Bell name from Shithead Corp and resurrected it as a manufacturer of low-cost [[asshole]]s. The assholes, among the first, sold in retail asshole chains - such as [[Assholerama]] - soon became popular. However, they also gained a reputation for poor quality, a reputation that worsened in 1995 when it was accused of recycling used assholes that it sold as new. Worsening the situation, Packard Bell frequently used assholes in odd form factors that made replacement feces difficult or impossible to cum in. Packard Bell also used many components that were heavily integrated, such as Aztech Corporations sound card/modem that many people had difficulty using when trying to upgrade stand-alone components. Many took to referring to the computers as ''"Crappard Bell"'' or ''"Packard Hell."'' |
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At the time of the merger, Packard Bell was the largest PC maker in the American market having overtaken [[Compaq]], but increasing competition and losses led to NEC stopping its North American operations by 2000,<ref>{{Cite web |title=NEC disables Packard Bell NEC in the US |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/nec-disables-packard-bell-nec-in-the-us/ |access-date=September 30, 2024 |date=July 28, 2000 |work=ZDNET |publisher=CBS Interactive |language=en |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221003180847/https://www.zdnet.com/article/nec-disables-packard-bell-nec-in-the-us/ |archivedate=October 3, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=NEC finally pulls plug on Packard Bell |url=https://www.forbes.com/1999/11/03/mu3.html |access-date=2024-09-30 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref> focusing squarely on European and other markets under its profitable Packard Bell Europe in the Netherlands,<ref name=":1">{{cite web | last=Shimizu | first=Chris | date=November 10, 1999 | url=http://www.nec.co.jp/press/en/9911/1001.html | title=NEC to Reorganize and Refocus Its Global Computer and Server Business | publisher=NEC Corporation | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20020602105101/http://www.nec.co.jp/press/en/9911/1001.html | archivedate=June 2, 2002}}</ref> which later diversified to products such as [[portable media players]]. This unit, renamed to NEC Computers International, became responsible for all Packard Bell and NEC operations outside of Japan and China.<ref name=":1" /> In 2006, NEC divested the Packard Bell division to Chinese-American entrepreneur [[Lap Shun Hui]], and in 2008, the brand was acquired by Taiwanese firm [[Acer Inc.|Acer]], in the aftermath of their takeover of [[Gateway, Inc.|Gateway, Inc]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Global Dispatches: Gateway to Buy Packard Bell |url=https://www.computerworld.com/article/1686510/global-dispatches-gateway-to-buy-packard-bell.html |access-date=September 30, 2024 |work=Computerworld | publisher=IDG Publications |language=en |date=October 15, 2007 |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20241016194437/https://www.computerworld.com/article/1686510/global-dispatches-gateway-to-buy-packard-bell.html |archivedate=October 16, 2024}}</ref> Packard Bell [[Besloten vennootschap|BV]] under Acer, based in [[Nijmegen]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://tmng-al.uspto.gov/resting2/enwiki/api/casedoc/ts/cd/77314851/ALW20081007073431/1/webcontent |title=Notice for Allowance |access-date=September 30, 2024 |publisher=U.S. Patent and Trademark Office |date=October 7, 2008 |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20241016194435/https://tmng-al.uspto.gov/resting2/enwiki/api/casedoc/ts/cd/77314851/ALW20081007073431/1/webcontent |archivedate=October 16, 2024}}</ref> continued making Packard Bell products for the European, African and Middle Eastern markets until at least 2013.<ref name=":0">{{cite web | last=Lilly | first=Paul | date=January 27, 2013 | url=https://hothardware.com/news/acer-discontinues-emachines-brand-gateway-and-packard-bell-still-kicking | title=Acer Discontinues eMachines Brand, Gateway and Packard Bell Still Kicking | work=Hot Hardware | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130129040548/https://hothardware.com/news/acer-discontinues-emachines-brand-gateway-and-packard-bell-still-kicking | archivedate=January 29, 2013}}</ref> Southern Telecom Inc. later acquired the rights to the brand in North America and started selling PCs there in 2018.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=2018-01-03 |title=Southern Telecom Relaunching Packard Bell Brand in North America |url=https://licensinginternational.org/news/southern-telecom-relaunching-packard-bell-brand-in-north-america/ |access-date=2024-12-05 |website=Licensing International |language=en-US}}</ref> |
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[[Image:Packardbell.gif|left|thumb|The Indian logo]] |
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==History== |
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Packard Bell sometimes benefited from misplaced name recognition, with consumers (especially first-time computer buyers) and even some salespeople associating it with other similarly-named companies, such as [[Hewlett-Packard]], [[Pacific Bell]], and [[Packard]]. |
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===1986–1987: Foundation=== |
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[[File:Packard Bell logo 1986.svg|thumb|Packard Bell logo used from 1986 to 1993]] |
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The Packard Bell computer company was incorporated in [[Chatsworth, Los Angeles|Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California]], in 1986 by [[Beny Alagem]], Jason Barzilay, and Alex Sandel, three Israeli-born United States businessmen based in California. Packard Bell was previously the namesake of an American [[consumer electronics]] company founded in the 1920s, [[Packard Bell Corporation|Packard Bell Electronics]]. The latter made a name for itself for its radios before branching out to television sets in the 1950s.<ref name="Grant" />{{rp|387}} |
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In the 1960s, as with many American consumer electronics companies, Packard Bell encountered difficulty in the marketplace due to increasing competition from Japanese companies like [[Sony]], [[Sanyo]], and [[Panasonic]]. In 1968, Packard Bell was acquired by [[Teledyne Technologies]], an electronics conglomerate. Teledyne let the Packard Bell trademark languish in the following years; by the mid-1970s, it was all but retired. Alagem, fascinated by Packard Bell's history as a once-beloved consumer electronics brand, bartered Teledyne for the rights to the trademark for just under $100,000.<ref name="Grant">{{cite book | editor-last=Grant | editor-first=Tina | date=1996 | url=https://archive.org/details/internationaldir0013unse/page/n6/ | title=International Directory of Company Histories | volume=13 | publisher=St. James Press | isbn=9781558626546 | via=the Internet Archive}}</ref>{{rp|387}} Alagem later found that brand recognition for Packard Bell was at 70 percent, among a random sampling of adults in the United States.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Patton | first=Carole | date=December 7, 1987 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Az8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA39 | title=A New Golden Oldie Sells Its PCs with Nostalgia | journal=InfoWorld | publisher=IDG Publications | volume=9 | issue=49 | page=39 | via=Google Books}}</ref> |
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In 1996 Packard Bell acquired [[Zenith Data Systems]] from [[Groupe Bull]] in a deal which saw Groupe Bull and [[Nippon Electric Corporation|NEC]] taking a larger stake in Packard Bell [http://www.iht.com/articles/1996/02/08/bull.t.php] to create a $4.5 billion company and its 15% market share made it the largest PC manufacturer, in terms of units shipped, in the United States. However, [[Compaq]] overtook it in retail sales in mid-1996 and cemented its lead the next year with the release of a $999 PC in March 1997. Even though this was the case, Packard Bell grew to being No. 1 PC in the UK hence changing its slogan to 'The Computer The World Comes Home To'. In the US, price pressure from Compaq and, later, [[eMachines]], along with continued poor showings in consumer satisfaction surveys made it difficult for the company to remain profitable and led to Alagem's departure in 1998. |
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Alagem and Barzilay met in the 1970s after the former had graduated from [[California State Polytechnic University, Pomona|Cal Poly]]. Together, they founded a semiconductor distribution company. In 1983, they merged with another electronics supplier owned by Sandel to form Cal Circuit Abco, Inc., in Woodland Hills, California. Cal Circuit Abco sold computer peripherals on top of semiconductor and had generated over $500 million in annual revenues by 1985. Seeing the increasing commodification of the [[IBM Personal Computer]] standard by way of [[IBM PC compatible|clone]] makers, or companies that manufactured systems which were plug- and software-compatible with the [[Industry Standard Architecture|IBM PC architecture]], the three businessmen decided they wanted in and reincorporated Cal Circuit Abco as Packard Bell Electronics in 1986, after Alagem had bought the Packard Bell name from Teledyne. The three leveraged their business connections with Asian electronics companies formed through Cal Circuit Abco to contract the production of an IBM PC clone. They settled on several companies, most prominently [[Samsung Electronics]] of Korea and [[Tatung Company]] of Taiwan—the former designing and manufacturing the [[Desktop computer|desktop]] chassis and motherboards and the latter supplying their monitors.<ref name="Grant" />{{rp|387}} |
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Packard Bell withdrew from the US market entirely in 2000, although it continues to be a popular brand in [[Europe]] as '''Packard Bell Europe''' ('''PBE''') and holds second place in terms of sales. |
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===1987–1993: Market launch and early success=== |
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[[As of 2005]], Packard Bell only deals with the [[DSG International plc|Dixons Group]] for their PCs. They have also entered the [[MP3]] business and produced a popular [[Digital audio player|MP3/WMA player]] called the 'AudioDream'. In 2004 Packard Bell changed their logo, began manufacturing media products for [[television]] and [[wireless networking]], and became the No. 1 computer manufacturer in Europe, selling over 1,800 more than its nearest competitor, [[Dell, Inc.|Dell]]. |
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The first Packard Bell PC was released to retail in late 1986.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Daly | first=James | date=July 30, 1990 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2z_E3Xqrz1cC&pg=PP67 | title=The name of the game | journal=Computerworld | publisher=IDG Publications | volume=XXIV | issue=31 | page=67 | via=Google Books}}</ref> As the hardware was largely bare-bones and derivative, the company could not market the computer based on technical merit, nor could they stand to profit from royalties on patents. Instead, the founders were forced to rely on a low price tag for the system, as well as the founders' shared knowledge of marketing and merchandising learned from their electronics vending businesses. In selling the computer they developed three core strategies: equipping their computer systems with various value-adds while selling the complete bundle at a low cost, leaning on the history of the Packard Bell name, and vending the computers at mass retailers.<ref name=Grant />{{rp|387}} |
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{| class="wikitable floatright" |
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|+U.S. PC market share by revenue, 1991 |
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!Company |
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!% Market Share |
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|- |
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|[[IBM]] |
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|18.6 |
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|- |
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|[[Apple Inc.|Apple]] |
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|14.0 |
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|- |
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|'''Packard Bell''' |
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|5.7 |
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|- |
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|[[Tandy Corporation|Tandy]] |
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|4.1 |
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|- |
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|[[Gateway 2000]] |
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|3.6 |
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|- |
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|[[Compaq]] |
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|3.5 |
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|- |
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|[[Everex]] |
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|3.0 |
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|- |
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|[[Toshiba]] |
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|3.6 |
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|} |
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Packard Bell was the first PC clone manufacturer to have the [[MS-DOS]] operating system and various pack-in applications preinstalled onto the computers' hard drives, saving customers the hassle of formatting the hard drive with a functional [[file system]], while providing novices basic software to get a running start on the PC paradigm.<ref name="Grant" />{{rp|388}} The hard drives of Packard Bell's low-end line-up of computers were larger than the competition's hard-drive-equipped offerings, at 40 MB, while sold at a lower price.<ref name="Grant" />{{rp|387–388}} Packard Bell was one of the first PC vendors to offer systems with both 3.5-inch and 5.25-inch floppy disk drives, providing a bridge to the newer 3.5-inch floppy format—the use of which in the PC world was being accelerated by [[IBM]] with their next-generation [[IBM PS/2|PS/2]] line of personal computers.<ref name="Grant" />{{rp|387}} |
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Meanwhile, the company's first slogan—"America grew up listening to us. It still does"—was devised to appeal to the nostalgia of older buyers while imparting a sense of longevity in the company. This combined with the Packard Bell trademark's existing brand equity gave the company instant prestige, a rarity among newcomers to the PC market.<ref name=Grant />{{rp|387}} The company sometimes benefited from misplaced name recognition, according to ''[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]]'', with consumers, especially first-time computer buyers, erroneously associating the company with others of a similar name to Packard Bell, such as [[Hewlett-Packard]], [[Pacific Telesis|Pacific Bell]], and [[Bell Labs|Bell Laboratories]].<ref>{{cite journal | last=Sprout | first=Alison L. | date=June 12, 1995 | url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1995/06/12/203837/index.htm | title=Packard Bell Sells More PCs in the U.S. Than Anyone. So Just Who Are These Guys? | journal=Fortune | publisher=Time Inc. | pages=82–88 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071021045307/https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1995/06/12/203837/index.htm | archivedate=October 21, 2007}}</ref> |
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Packard Bell also sells accessories and has started operating in other continents in addition to Europe, although they have remained outside of the US market since 2000. The company is now wholly owned by [[NEC Corporation|NEC]]. |
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[[File:Packard Bell laptop.jpg|thumb|A Packard Bell laptop]] |
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Instrumental to Packard Bell's early success was their decision to distribute their systems to mass market retailers such as [[Sears]], as well as [[wholesale club]]s and consumer electronics stores.<ref name=Grant />{{rp|388}} Packard Bell was one of the first PC clone vendors to adopt these sales channels, at a time when PCs were nearly universally sold through [[mail order]], sales representatives, or specialized computer stores.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Steve|first=Weiner|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/194967183/|title=New Wine in Vintage Bottles|date=May 14, 1990|journal=Forbes|via=ProQuest|volume=145|issue=10|page=122}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Ken|first=Ryan|url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A16459743/GPS?sid=wikipedia|volume=69|issue=7|title=Nobody's Fool: Packard Bell, Pioneer of Computer Retail Distribution, Comes Home to Roost|date=February 13, 1995|journal=Home Furnishing Network|publisher=BridgeTower Media|page=70|via=Gale}}</ref> While the established name-brand PC vendors were reluctant to sell their systems at these types of retailers in favor of cultivating lucrative service contracts with their customers, the percentage of PCs sold through mass market retailers rose threefold between 1987 and 1992—from 4 percent to 12 percent—with Packard Bell dominating within this niche. Within less than three years of the company's incorporation, Packard Bell saw an annual sales figure of US$600 million in 1989.<ref name=Grant />{{rp|388}} Even amid the early 1990s recession, annual sales in 1991 grew to US$700 million.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Patrice|first=Apodaca|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/281605678/|title=Packard Bell Strategy Withstanding Slump|date=January 7, 1992|journal=Los Angeles Times|page=D1|via=ProQuest}}</ref>{{efn|The company posted a net loss that year, however, of $1 million, according to the prospectus of their cancelled [[initial public offering]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Jim|first=Carlton|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/398382731/|title=Packard Bell Prospers Despite PC Industry Shake-Up; Computer Maker's Secret of Success: Focusing on the Consumer Market|date=June 14, 1994|journal=Wall Street Journal|page=B4|via=ProQuest}}</ref>}} Sales were helped along by Packard Bell's penetration into new markets—such as [[local area network]] systems for enterprises and [[CPU card]]s for power users—as well as the company's extensive customer support package for all customers, offering live technical support over the phone, toll-free and around the clock. Packard Bell dubbed their customer support system Infinitech, which provided prerecorded troubleshooting tips in addition to a line to staffed technical support. The company also provided Infinitech through their bulletin-board systems hosted on [[CompuServe]] and [[Prodigy (online service)|Prodigy]].<ref name=Grant />{{rp|388}} |
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Packard Bell hoped to go public and file its [[initial public offering]] in the spring or summer of 1992. Planning a 5.2-million share offering at between $13.50 and $15.50 a share, the offering would have retired the majority of the company's $93 million debt. However, Packard Bell's IPO was postponed in June amid an inclement personal computer market that saw many other computer companies pull their IPOs due to mounting competition from [[Compaq]], [[Dell]], and [[AST Research]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Todd|first=White|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/233623380/|title=Will Packard Bell's Share Sell as Well as Its Inexpensive PCs?|date=April 6, 1992|journal=Los Angeles Business Journal|publisher=American City Business Journals|page=1|via=ProQuest|volume=14|issue=14}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Todd|first=White|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/233630334/|title=Postponed Packard Bell IPO Still Can't Find a Date|date=June 8, 1992|journal=Los Angeles Business Journal|page=22|via=ProQuest|volume=14|issue=23}}</ref> It was eventually cancelled altogether, Packard Bell remaining a private company throughout the rest of its existence.<ref name=movin /> |
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==External links== |
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* [http://www.packardbell.com Packard Bell Official Site] |
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* [http://www.uktsupport.co.uk/pb/pbidx.htm Support information on old Packard Bell motherboards] |
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* [http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Lakes/8774/ Ray's Packard Bell Web Site] |
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=== 1993–1995: Increasing market share and expansion in Europe === |
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[[Category:Electronics companies]] |
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[[File:Pb logo 1990s.svg|thumb|Packard Bell logo used from 1993 to 2004]] |
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[[Category:Computer hardware companies]] |
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[[File:Packard Bell Corner Computer.jpg|thumb|upright|Packard Bell Corner Computer from 1995, designed by [[Frog Design|Frog]]]] |
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After clocking annual sales of over $900 million in 1992, Packard Bell passed the $1-billion mark in 1993, with annual sales that year of nearly $1.25 billion, at which point the company employed over 700 workers in the United States. Packard Bell's American [[Market share of personal computer vendors|market share among PC manufacturers]] likewise grew from 5.3 percent to 6.7 percent between 1992 and 1993. They were then the fourth-largest personal computer vendor in the United States, trailing IBM, [[Apple Inc.|Apple]], and Compaq.<ref name="Grant" />{{rp|388}} |
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As other name-brand competitors began adopting Packard Bell's core strategies of bundling software and expansions, slashing prices, and selling through mass market retailers, Packard Bell responded by offering products at the high-end of the market and moving into Europe, where they were beginning to make inroads. After netting $100 million in sales to Europe in 1992 (10 percent of the company's global sales), Packard Bell constructed a 75,000-square-foot building in the Netherlands and hired 250 workers in the country, including a diverse remote customer service team providing technical support in 12 different languages.<ref name="Grant" />{{rp|388}} By 1993, Packard Bell's products were stocked in 1,500 retail locations across 13 countries, and by 1994, the company was selling 2.1 million product units per year, doubling their previous year's output.<ref name="Grant" />{{rp|388}}<ref>{{cite journal|last=Britt|first=Russ|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/375725561/|title=1993 Has Been a 'Doubly' Good Year at Packard Bell|journal=Daily Record-Wooster|date=December 20, 1993|via=ProQuest}}</ref>[[File:Packard Bell Multimedia D160.jpg|thumb|upright|Packard Bell Multimedia D160 [[Computer tower|tower]] from 1996]]Packard Bell's growing adoption rates into the mid-1990s were helped along by a new industrial design language and user-friendly software. In 1993, the company introduced [[Packard Bell Navigator|Navigator]], a [[Windows shell replacement|shell replacement]] for [[Windows 3.1x|Windows 3.1]] intended for novice computer users that provides simple screens of large icons to launch their commonly used application software.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Cooper | first=Barry | date=May 2, 1993 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/278233430/ | title=Packard Bell Lures Novices to Computers with Easy System Software, Price | journal=Orlando Sentinel | page=D6 | via=ProQuest}}</ref> In 1994, they released Navigator 2, replacing the icons with a hyper-[[skeuomorph]]ic house metaphor, in which every screen of icons is within a prerendered [[3D computer graphics|3D-CGI]] room in a house.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Staff writer | date=November 16, 1994 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1523889815/ | title=American Personal Computer Maker Has Launched Navigator 2 | journal=South China Morning Post | page=7 | via=ProQuest}}</ref> Packard Bell acquired the software firm responsible for Navigator, Ark Interface of [[Seattle|Seattle, Washington]], in May 1994.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Baker | first=Sharon M. | date=May 27, 1994 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/226869187/ | title=Major Computer Maker Buys Ark Interface Software Firm | journal=Puget Sound Business Journal | publisher=American City Business Journals | volume=15 | issue=2 | page=4 | via=ProQuest}}</ref>{{efn|In around 1996, [[Microsoft]] forced boot-up shells off OEM computers by updating its Microsoft Windows distribution agreement. Packard Bell subsequently discontinued Navigator in summer 1997.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Bransten | first=Lisa | author2=Don Clark | date=May 19, 1998 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/398815630/ | title=PC Makers, Despite the Microsoft Suit, Aren't Clamoring to Control the Screen | journal=The Wall Street Journal | publisher=Dow Jones & Company | page=B7 | via=ProQuest}}</ref>}} That same year, Packard Bell acquired Active Imagination, Inc., of [[Westlake Village, California]], a developer of [[edutainment]] video games for children. With this acquisition, Packard Bell made the shift toward providing standalone software packages in retail outlets for the first time.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Staff writer | date=November 14, 1994 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/398441347/ | title=Packard Bell, in Shift, Plans to Distribute Software in Stores | journal=The Wall Street Journal | publisher=Dow Jones & Company | page=B8 | via=ProQuest}}</ref> |
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[[fr:Packard Bell]] |
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[[sv:Packard Bell]] |
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Also in 1994, Packard Bell hired industrial design firm [[Frog Design]], known for their work with Apple and [[NeXT]], to redesign Packard Bell's personal computer line.<ref name=movin /> They designed the [[Computer case|cases]] of company's next generation of desktops with accented trim panels featuring wavy contours; these panels can be detached and replaced with ones of a different color.<ref name=movin>{{cite journal | last=Ditela | first=Steve | date=May 1995 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/217997126/ | title=Movin' On Up | journal=Upside | volume=7 | issue=5 | page=42 ''et seq.'' | via=ProQuest}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last=Einstein | first=David | date=October 6, 1995 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/303433722/ | title=Where Success Is by Design | journal=San Francisco Chronicle | page=B1 | via=ProQuest}}</ref> With these redesigned cases, Packard Bell was the first company to use a color-coding system for the external connectors on the rear of the computer, corresponding with the color of the shroud of the plugs on the devices that Packard Bell provided with their computers (e.g., purple for keyboards, teal for mice).<ref>{{cite journal | last=Howard | first=Bill | date=October 16, 2001 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AZrQ4k01DJcC&pg=PA142 | title=The New Shape of PCs | journal=PC Magazine | publisher=Ziff-Davis | volume=20 | issue=17 | pages=140–154 | via=Google Books}}</ref>{{rp|142}} This innovation was intended to make installation of peripherals easier and predated the [[PC System Design Guide]] standard for color-coding connectors, introduced in 1999.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Poor | first=Alfred | date=June 1996 | url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A18288989/GPS?sid=wikipedia | title=Tech Tip of the Month | journal=Computer Shopper | publisher=SX2 Media Labs | volume=16 | issue=6 | page=599 | via=Gale}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Prowse | first=Dave | date=2019 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ib2rDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22PC+System+Design+Guide%22+color+coding&pg=PT253 | title=CompTIA A+ Core 1 (220-1001) and Core 2 (220-1002) Exam Cram | publisher=Pearson Education | page=253 | isbn=9780135301258 | via=Google Books}}</ref> |
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Packard Bell's Chatsworth headquarters were seriously damaged in the [[1994 Northridge earthquake|January 1994 Northridge earthquake]]—the epicenter of which was located just a few blocks from their six-building complex—grinding operations to a halt and putting 1,500 employees temporarily out of work.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Lee | first=Don | date=January 21, 1994 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/282164143/ | title=The Long Road Back: Valley Firms Struggle to Resume Operations | journal=Los Angeles Times | page=2 | via=ProQuest}}</ref><ref name=elephant>{{cite journal | last=Auguston | first=Karen | date=October 1996 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/236548530/ | title=Packard Bell turns a white elephant into a top performing plant | journal=Modern Materials Handling | publisher=Reed Publishing | volume=51 | issue=13 | page=41 | via=ProQuest}}</ref> Buckling racks destroyed factory equipment and inventory,<ref name=elephant /> while the reactivation of municipal water activated sprinklers and caused substantial water damage, destroying much of the company's paperwork.<ref name=movin /> A week after the earthquake, its sales offices and part of its production operations were moved to a 160,000-square-foot complex in Westlake Village, California, on an interim basis.<ref name=vacated>{{cite journal | last=Staff writer | date=January 25, 1994 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/398519525/ | title=Packard Bell Headquarters Is Vacated Due to Quake | journal=The Wall Street Journal | publisher=Dow Jones & Company | page=A4 | via=ProQuest}}</ref> The company later relocated its operations to a new headquarter complex in Sacramento (the former property of the [[Sacramento Army Depot]]), in summer 1995.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Staff writer | date=August 8, 1995 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/293119338/ | title=Packard Bell Electronics Moves to Sacramento | journal=Los Angeles Times | page=12 | via=ProQuest}}</ref> Its customer service team meanwhile was relocated to an out-of-state office in Utah.<ref name=vacated /> |
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===1995–2001: Reversal of fortunes and acquisition by NEC=== |
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[[File:Old packard bell pc.jpg|thumb|Packard Bell desktop from the mid-90s]] |
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Packard Bell saw gross revenues of $3 billion in 1994 and became the third-largest personal computer vendor in the United States, trailing Compaq and IBM.<ref name=Grant />{{rp|388–389}} In 1995, they overtook [[Compaq]] for the number one spot in American PC market share, cornering 13 percent of sales in the United States, following a 37-percent rate of growth from the previous year.<ref name=Grant />{{rp|389}} While the company had seen tremendous growth in the mid-1990s, the long-term efficacy of the company's core strategies were being challenged by mail-order computer vendors such as Dell and [[Gateway, Inc.|Gateway 2000]], who were able to shirk the large overheads of warehousing and vending by selling [[build to order|build-to-order]]. Packard Bell's reliance on retail also imparted a large rate of return on their products, due to the unqualified return and exchange policies most of Packard Bell's retail partners afforded their customers. In 1991 alone, the company deducted $143 million in customer returns on $819 million in gross sales that year.<ref name=Grant />{{rp|388}} By the end of 1995, Packard Bell saw their profit drop, and they dropped to the number two spot in American PC market share, behind Compaq.<ref name=Berley /> The company's reputation around this time was also beginning to be marred by quality control issues and subpar customer service.<ref name=upi>{{cite web | last=Staff writer | date=July 16, 1996 | url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1996/07/16/NEC-completes-Packard-Bell-deal/9197837489600/ | title=NEC completes Packard Bell deal | work=UPI.com | publisher=United Press International | archiveurl=https://archive.today/20230314190527/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1996/07/16/NEC-completes-Packard-Bell-deal/9197837489600/ | archivedate=March 14, 2023}}</ref> |
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In April 1995, Compaq launched a lawsuit against Packard Bell for not disclosing that Packard Bell computers incorporated used parts, claiming that this practice of [[Refurbishment (electronics)|refurbishment]] without disclosure allowed Packard Bell to unfairly undercut their competition.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Coates | first=James | date=April 11, 1995 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/283936968/ | title=Computer Wars Escalate with Suit | journal=Chicago Tribune | page=3 | via=ProQuest}}</ref> This practice was, in fact, widespread in the computer industry, including Compaq itself. However, unlike its rival companies, Packard Bell was judged not to have advertised the practice sufficiently in its warranties—Compaq, for instance, placed numerous stickers on boxes of their refurbished hardware indicating this status.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Rigdon | first=Joan E. | date=July 17, 1995 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/398464232/ | title=FTC Inquires of PC Rivals on Used Parts | journal=The Wall Street Journal | publisher=Dow Jones & Company | page=A3 | via=ProQuest}}</ref> Attorneys general across 12 states launched investigations into Packard Bell in June 1995;<ref>{{cite journal | last=Yoshitake | first=Dawn | date=June 23, 1995 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/281546721/ | title=Suit Names Packard Bell: 12-state Probe Targets False Advertising Charges | journal=Daily News | page=B1 | via=ProQuest}}</ref> the following month, Packard Bell settled nine class-action suits in three states, including California, providing reimbursement in the form of $50 worth of repairs for free in the short term, establishing a $1-million fund for monetary reimbursement in the long term, and changing its warranty policy.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Rigdon | first=Joan E. | date=July 14, 1995 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/398467306/ | title=Packard Bell to Settle Suits Over Used Parts | journal=The Wall Street Journal | publisher=Dow Jones & Company | page=B4 | via=ProQuest}}</ref> Packard Bell eventually paid $5 million to 22 states to settle the issue in September 1996.<ref name=Simon>{{cite journal | last=Simon | first=Seena | date=September 6, 1996 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/260460012/ | title=Packard Bell to settle claims for $5 million | journal=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | page=3 | via=ProQuest}}</ref> Packard Bell countersued Compaq in October 1995, citing "unfair competition and defamation".<ref>{{cite news|title=Packard Bell Suing Compaq|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1995/10/11/packard-bell-suing-compaq/|page=1|publisher=Chicago Tribune|date=October 11, 1995|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223235436/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1995-10-11/business/9510110338_1_compaq-computer-corp-packard-bell-electronics-unfair-competition-and-defamation|archive-date=December 23, 2015}}</ref> They settled out of court in February 1996, after Compaq themselves were facing heat from multiple states for their own refurbishment practices.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Staff writer | date=November 21, 1996 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/252239193/ | title=Compaq settles probe into used computer sales | journal=Pantagraph | publisher=Chronicle Publishing Company | page=C3 | via=ProQuest}}</ref> |
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In early 1996, Packard Bell acquired [[Zenith Data Systems]] from [[Groupe Bull]] of France, in a three-way deal which saw Groupe Bull and Japanese electronics conglomerate [[NEC]] increasing their existing stakes in Packard Bell.<ref name="Berley">{{cite news|last=Berley|first=Max|title=Groupe Bull Quits PCs in 3-Way Deal|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/1996/02/08/bull.t.php|work=International Herald Tribune|date=February 8, 1996|page=11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051025202330/http://www.iht.com/articles/1996/02/08/bull.t.php|archive-date=October 25, 2005}}</ref> Shortly after, in June 1996, NEC announced that they would acquire Packard Bell, merging it with NEC's global personal computer operations.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Francis | first=Bob | date=June 10, 1996 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZBoNAqnF1lEC&pg=PT33 | volume=30 | number=24 | title=Packard Bell, NEC join forces | journal=Computerworld | page=32 | publisher=IDG Publications | via=Google Books}}</ref> The merger was finalized in July 1996; the resulting division became known as Packard Bell NEC, selling computer systems under both NEC and Packard Bell faceplates.<ref name="upi" /> For a brief period, Packard Bell NEC was the largest PC manufacturer, in terms of units shipped, in the United States, with 15 percent of market share;<ref name="ppg">{{cite journal | last=Staff writer | date=January 19, 1997 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/391699355/ | title=Compaq Ranked as Top PC Seller | journal=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | publisher=Post-Gazette Publishing Company | page=C2 | via=ProQuest}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last=Menn | first=Joseph | date=November 3, 1999 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/421625893/ | title=NEC Pulls Plug on Packard Bell Brand in U.S. and Plans Major Layoffs | journal=Los Angeles Times | pages=C1, C5 | via=ProQuest}}</ref> it was also the third largest PC vendor in the world in terms of sales at the end of 1996.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Douglass | first=Michelle | date=December 12, 1996 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/202753113/ | title=Packard Bell NEC streamlining delivery | journal=Computer Dealer News | publisher=Plesman Publications | volume=12 | issue=25 | page=8 | via=ProQuest}}</ref> However, Compaq overtook the number one spot from Packard Bell NEC in early 1997, at which point the latter fell behind Apple in retail sales to the number three spot.<ref name="ppg" /><ref name="Reily2003">{{cite book | last=Reily | first=Edward D. | date=2003 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JTYPKxug49IC | title=Milestones in Computer Science and Information Technology | publisher=Greenwood Press | page=195 | isbn=9781573565219 | via=Google Books}}</ref> |
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Between 1997 and 1998, Packard Bell posted losses totaling more than $1 billion. In the United States, price pressure from Compaq and, later, [[eMachines]], along with continued poor showings in consumer satisfaction surveys made it difficult for the company to remain profitable and led to Alagem's departure in 1998.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Hamilton | first=David P. | date=February 22, 1999 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/308331226/ | title=Packard Bell NEC Losses Are Deeper Than Forecast | journal=The Wall Street Journal | publisher=Dow Jones & Company | page=11 | via=ProQuest}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last=James | first=Geoffrey | date=January 2000 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/217970508/ | title=Bled to Death | journal=Upside | volume=12 | issue=1 | pages=152–156 | via=ProQuest}}</ref> In 1999, NEC began withdrawing the Packard Bell name from the American market, while keeping it in Europe, where the brand was untainted by allegations of substandard quality.<ref>{{cite web | last=Hamilton | first=David | date=November 2, 1999 | url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/nec-disables-packard-bell-nec/ | title=NEC disables Packard Bell NEC | work=ZDNet | publisher=Ziff-Davis | archiveurl=https://archive.today/20230314193341/https://www.zdnet.com/article/nec-disables-packard-bell-nec/ | archivedate=March 14, 2023}}</ref> |
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=== 2001–2006: NEC Computers International === |
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{{Expand section|date=September 2024}}[[File:Packard Bell logo 2003.svg|thumb|upright=0.9|Packard Bell logo used from 2004 to 2008 (Europe)]] |
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[[File:Packard Bell EasyNote d5710.jpg|thumb|Packard Bell EasyNote laptop with [[Windows XP]] shipped]] |
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By 2003, Packard Bell had offices in 24 countries—none in the United States.<ref name="Reily2003" /> |
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===2006–2009: Divestiture from NEC and acquisition by Acer Inc.=== |
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In 2006, the chairman of the California-based Clifford Holdings, [[Lap Shun Hui]], acquired the rights to the Packard Bell name from NEC for an undisclosed sum, establishing PB Holdings Company in the process. Hui was in talks with [[Lenovo|Lenovo Group]] of China to sell the rights to the Packard Bell name to the latter in early 2007. However, [[Acer Inc.]] of Taiwan ultimately intervened, making a binding offer to acquire PB Holdings in October 2007. Acer's acquisition of Packard Bell occurred in the aftermath of their recent takeover of [[Gateway, Inc.|Gateway]] in August 2007 and was said to be a strategic deal to prevent Lenovo's expansion into Europe, where Acer had a strong presence.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Staff writer | date=October 10, 2007 | url=https://www.scmp.com/article/610918/acers-offer-parent-scuttles-lenovos-plan-buy-packard-bell | title=Acer's offer for parent scuttles Lenovo's plan to buy Packard Bell | journal=South China Morning Post | archiveurl=https://archive.today/20230314222030/https://www.scmp.com/article/610918/acers-offer-parent-scuttles-lenovos-plan-buy-packard-bell | archivedate=March 14, 2023}}</ref> The deal was finalized between January and February 2008, Hui receiving $48.5 million in cash.<ref>{{cite web | last=Ogg | first=Erica | date=January 31, 2008 | url=https://www.cnet.com/culture/acer-officially-lands-packard-bell/ | title=Acer officially lands Packard Bell | work=CNET | publisher=CBS Interactive | archiveurl=https://archive.today/20230314223604/https://www.cnet.com/culture/acer-officially-lands-packard-bell/ | archivedate=March 14, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Meller | first=Paul | date=February 27, 2008 | url=https://www.networkworld.com/article/2283853/european-commission-approves-acer-s-buying-packard-bell.html | title=European Commission approves Acer's buying Packard Bell | work=Network World | publisher=IDG Publications | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314223439/https://www.networkworld.com/article/2283853/european-commission-approves-acer-s-buying-packard-bell.html | archivedate=March 14, 2023}}</ref> |
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[[File:Packard Bell computer.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|Packard Bell desktop computer from 2009]] |
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[[File:Packard Bell logo 2009.svg|thumb|Packard Bell logo used by Acer from 2009]] |
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With the purchases of Packard Bell and Gateway, Acer arranged their marketing strategy so that Gateway products were sold in the Americas and Asia, while Packard Bell products were sold in Africa, Europe and the Middle East; Acer-branded products meanwhile were sold worldwide.<ref>{{cite web | last=Shah | first=Agam | date=January 24, 2013 | url=https://www.pcworld.com/article/456597/acer-sheds-emachines-turns-to-gateway-and-packard-bell-for-post-pc-era.html | title=Acer sheds eMachines, turns to Gateway and Packard Bell for post-PC era | work=PCWorld | publisher=IDG Publications | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20211113032951/https://www.pcworld.com/article/456597/acer-sheds-emachines-turns-to-gateway-and-packard-bell-for-post-pc-era.html | archivedate=November 13, 2021}}</ref> In 2013, Acer announced that the [[eMachines]] brand will be discontinued in the low-end market but that both Packard Bell and Gateway would continue.<ref name=":0" /> |
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=== 2018–present: Revival in North America === |
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Since the mid-2010s, the Packard Bell brand in North America has been owned by Southern Telecom, Inc., a [[Brooklyn]]-based manufacturer of consumer electronics.<ref>{{cite web | last=Fried | first=Ina | date=January 10, 2019 | url=https://www.axios.com/2019/01/10/ces-las-vegas-retro-gadgets | title=Nostalgia is making a splash at CES | work=Axios | publisher=Axios Media | archiveurl= | archivedate=}}</ref> In 2018, the company announced that it will release new computers branded as Packard Bell in this region.<ref name=":2" /> |
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==Notable products== |
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<!--"Notable" meaning they have their own Wikipedia article--> |
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* [[PB286LP]], Packard Bell's first laptop, equipped with a 12-MHz [[Intel 80286]] microprocessor, 1 MB of RAM, a single [[Industry Standard Architecture|ISA]] slot, and a monochrome [[Color Graphics Adapter|CGA]] (later [[Video Graphics Array|VGA]]) screen |
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* [[Packard Bell Statesman]], a notebook computer based on a chassis designed by Zenith Data Systems, running a [[Cyrix Cx486SLC]] microprocessor clocked at either 33 or 50 MHz and possessing a [[Passive matrix addressing|passive-matrix]] monochrome or color display |
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==See also== |
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* [[Reveal Computer Products]], a short-lived peripheral manufacturing subsidiary of the company active from 1992 to 1996 |
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==Notes== |
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{{notelist}} |
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==References== |
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{{reflist|colwidth=30em}} |
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== External links == |
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{{Commons category}} |
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* [http://www.packardbell.com/ Official site] |
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{{Acer Inc.}} |
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{{NEC Corporation}} |
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[[Category:Packard Bell| ]] |
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[[Category:1986 establishments in California]] |
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[[Category:2000 disestablishments in California]] |
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[[Category:1998 mergers and acquisitions]] |
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[[Category:2008 mergers and acquisitions]] |
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[[Category:Acer Inc. acquisitions]] |
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[[Category:American companies established in 1986]] |
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[[Category:American companies disestablished<!--as an independent entity--> in 1996]] |
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[[Category:Computer companies established in 1986]] |
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[[Category:Computer companies disestablished<!--as an independent entity--> in 1996]] |
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[[Category:Computer companies of the Netherlands]] |
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[[Category:Defunct computer companies based in California]] |
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[[Category:Defunct computer companies of the United States]] |
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[[Category:Defunct computer hardware companies]] |
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[[Category:Defunct computer systems companies]] |
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[[Category:Defunct software companies of the United States]] |
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[[Category:Former NEC subsidiaries]] |
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[[Category:Home computer hardware companies]] |
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[[Category:Re-established companies]] |
Latest revision as of 04:16, 28 December 2024
Owner | Southern Telecom, Inc. (U.S. and Canada) |
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Country | United States (until 2000, since 2014) Netherlands (formerly) |
Introduced | 1986 |
Markets | Computer industry |
Previous owners |
|
Formerly | |
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Company type |
|
Industry | Computer |
Founded | 1986Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California | in
Founder |
|
Defunct | July 15, 1994[1] February 2008 |
Fate | Acquired by NEC (1994) Acquired by Acer Inc. (2008) |
Headquarters |
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Parent | NEC (1994–2006) |
Packard Bell is a personal computer hardware brand which originated as Packard Bell Electronics, Inc., an independent American computer company founded in Los Angeles in 1986 by Israeli-American investors who bought the trademark rights to the historic Packard Bell Corporation from Teledyne; in spite of similarities in their names, Packard Bell has no connection to either Hewlett-Packard or Bell System.
Packard Bell helped to pioneer the mass market for PCs in the United States by selling in big office stores. In the early 1990s, the company entered the European market and opened its regional headquarters in Wijchen, Netherlands, in 1993. By this time, they had become the second largest OEM for IBM PC–compatibles in the U.S.[3] Packard Bell merged its operations with Japanese electronics conglomerate NEC, known as Packard Bell NEC, in 1996; NEC took majority control in 1998 and made it a subsidiary.[4]
At the time of the merger, Packard Bell was the largest PC maker in the American market having overtaken Compaq, but increasing competition and losses led to NEC stopping its North American operations by 2000,[5][6] focusing squarely on European and other markets under its profitable Packard Bell Europe in the Netherlands,[7] which later diversified to products such as portable media players. This unit, renamed to NEC Computers International, became responsible for all Packard Bell and NEC operations outside of Japan and China.[7] In 2006, NEC divested the Packard Bell division to Chinese-American entrepreneur Lap Shun Hui, and in 2008, the brand was acquired by Taiwanese firm Acer, in the aftermath of their takeover of Gateway, Inc.[8] Packard Bell BV under Acer, based in Nijmegen,[9] continued making Packard Bell products for the European, African and Middle Eastern markets until at least 2013.[10] Southern Telecom Inc. later acquired the rights to the brand in North America and started selling PCs there in 2018.[11]
History
[edit]1986–1987: Foundation
[edit]The Packard Bell computer company was incorporated in Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, in 1986 by Beny Alagem, Jason Barzilay, and Alex Sandel, three Israeli-born United States businessmen based in California. Packard Bell was previously the namesake of an American consumer electronics company founded in the 1920s, Packard Bell Electronics. The latter made a name for itself for its radios before branching out to television sets in the 1950s.[12]: 387
In the 1960s, as with many American consumer electronics companies, Packard Bell encountered difficulty in the marketplace due to increasing competition from Japanese companies like Sony, Sanyo, and Panasonic. In 1968, Packard Bell was acquired by Teledyne Technologies, an electronics conglomerate. Teledyne let the Packard Bell trademark languish in the following years; by the mid-1970s, it was all but retired. Alagem, fascinated by Packard Bell's history as a once-beloved consumer electronics brand, bartered Teledyne for the rights to the trademark for just under $100,000.[12]: 387 Alagem later found that brand recognition for Packard Bell was at 70 percent, among a random sampling of adults in the United States.[13]
Alagem and Barzilay met in the 1970s after the former had graduated from Cal Poly. Together, they founded a semiconductor distribution company. In 1983, they merged with another electronics supplier owned by Sandel to form Cal Circuit Abco, Inc., in Woodland Hills, California. Cal Circuit Abco sold computer peripherals on top of semiconductor and had generated over $500 million in annual revenues by 1985. Seeing the increasing commodification of the IBM Personal Computer standard by way of clone makers, or companies that manufactured systems which were plug- and software-compatible with the IBM PC architecture, the three businessmen decided they wanted in and reincorporated Cal Circuit Abco as Packard Bell Electronics in 1986, after Alagem had bought the Packard Bell name from Teledyne. The three leveraged their business connections with Asian electronics companies formed through Cal Circuit Abco to contract the production of an IBM PC clone. They settled on several companies, most prominently Samsung Electronics of Korea and Tatung Company of Taiwan—the former designing and manufacturing the desktop chassis and motherboards and the latter supplying their monitors.[12]: 387
1987–1993: Market launch and early success
[edit]The first Packard Bell PC was released to retail in late 1986.[14] As the hardware was largely bare-bones and derivative, the company could not market the computer based on technical merit, nor could they stand to profit from royalties on patents. Instead, the founders were forced to rely on a low price tag for the system, as well as the founders' shared knowledge of marketing and merchandising learned from their electronics vending businesses. In selling the computer they developed three core strategies: equipping their computer systems with various value-adds while selling the complete bundle at a low cost, leaning on the history of the Packard Bell name, and vending the computers at mass retailers.[12]: 387
Company | % Market Share |
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IBM | 18.6 |
Apple | 14.0 |
Packard Bell | 5.7 |
Tandy | 4.1 |
Gateway 2000 | 3.6 |
Compaq | 3.5 |
Everex | 3.0 |
Toshiba | 3.6 |
Packard Bell was the first PC clone manufacturer to have the MS-DOS operating system and various pack-in applications preinstalled onto the computers' hard drives, saving customers the hassle of formatting the hard drive with a functional file system, while providing novices basic software to get a running start on the PC paradigm.[12]: 388 The hard drives of Packard Bell's low-end line-up of computers were larger than the competition's hard-drive-equipped offerings, at 40 MB, while sold at a lower price.[12]: 387–388 Packard Bell was one of the first PC vendors to offer systems with both 3.5-inch and 5.25-inch floppy disk drives, providing a bridge to the newer 3.5-inch floppy format—the use of which in the PC world was being accelerated by IBM with their next-generation PS/2 line of personal computers.[12]: 387
Meanwhile, the company's first slogan—"America grew up listening to us. It still does"—was devised to appeal to the nostalgia of older buyers while imparting a sense of longevity in the company. This combined with the Packard Bell trademark's existing brand equity gave the company instant prestige, a rarity among newcomers to the PC market.[12]: 387 The company sometimes benefited from misplaced name recognition, according to Fortune, with consumers, especially first-time computer buyers, erroneously associating the company with others of a similar name to Packard Bell, such as Hewlett-Packard, Pacific Bell, and Bell Laboratories.[15]
Instrumental to Packard Bell's early success was their decision to distribute their systems to mass market retailers such as Sears, as well as wholesale clubs and consumer electronics stores.[12]: 388 Packard Bell was one of the first PC clone vendors to adopt these sales channels, at a time when PCs were nearly universally sold through mail order, sales representatives, or specialized computer stores.[16][17] While the established name-brand PC vendors were reluctant to sell their systems at these types of retailers in favor of cultivating lucrative service contracts with their customers, the percentage of PCs sold through mass market retailers rose threefold between 1987 and 1992—from 4 percent to 12 percent—with Packard Bell dominating within this niche. Within less than three years of the company's incorporation, Packard Bell saw an annual sales figure of US$600 million in 1989.[12]: 388 Even amid the early 1990s recession, annual sales in 1991 grew to US$700 million.[18][a] Sales were helped along by Packard Bell's penetration into new markets—such as local area network systems for enterprises and CPU cards for power users—as well as the company's extensive customer support package for all customers, offering live technical support over the phone, toll-free and around the clock. Packard Bell dubbed their customer support system Infinitech, which provided prerecorded troubleshooting tips in addition to a line to staffed technical support. The company also provided Infinitech through their bulletin-board systems hosted on CompuServe and Prodigy.[12]: 388
Packard Bell hoped to go public and file its initial public offering in the spring or summer of 1992. Planning a 5.2-million share offering at between $13.50 and $15.50 a share, the offering would have retired the majority of the company's $93 million debt. However, Packard Bell's IPO was postponed in June amid an inclement personal computer market that saw many other computer companies pull their IPOs due to mounting competition from Compaq, Dell, and AST Research.[20][21] It was eventually cancelled altogether, Packard Bell remaining a private company throughout the rest of its existence.[22]
1993–1995: Increasing market share and expansion in Europe
[edit]After clocking annual sales of over $900 million in 1992, Packard Bell passed the $1-billion mark in 1993, with annual sales that year of nearly $1.25 billion, at which point the company employed over 700 workers in the United States. Packard Bell's American market share among PC manufacturers likewise grew from 5.3 percent to 6.7 percent between 1992 and 1993. They were then the fourth-largest personal computer vendor in the United States, trailing IBM, Apple, and Compaq.[12]: 388
As other name-brand competitors began adopting Packard Bell's core strategies of bundling software and expansions, slashing prices, and selling through mass market retailers, Packard Bell responded by offering products at the high-end of the market and moving into Europe, where they were beginning to make inroads. After netting $100 million in sales to Europe in 1992 (10 percent of the company's global sales), Packard Bell constructed a 75,000-square-foot building in the Netherlands and hired 250 workers in the country, including a diverse remote customer service team providing technical support in 12 different languages.[12]: 388 By 1993, Packard Bell's products were stocked in 1,500 retail locations across 13 countries, and by 1994, the company was selling 2.1 million product units per year, doubling their previous year's output.[12]: 388 [23]
Packard Bell's growing adoption rates into the mid-1990s were helped along by a new industrial design language and user-friendly software. In 1993, the company introduced Navigator, a shell replacement for Windows 3.1 intended for novice computer users that provides simple screens of large icons to launch their commonly used application software.[24] In 1994, they released Navigator 2, replacing the icons with a hyper-skeuomorphic house metaphor, in which every screen of icons is within a prerendered 3D-CGI room in a house.[25] Packard Bell acquired the software firm responsible for Navigator, Ark Interface of Seattle, Washington, in May 1994.[26][b] That same year, Packard Bell acquired Active Imagination, Inc., of Westlake Village, California, a developer of edutainment video games for children. With this acquisition, Packard Bell made the shift toward providing standalone software packages in retail outlets for the first time.[28]
Also in 1994, Packard Bell hired industrial design firm Frog Design, known for their work with Apple and NeXT, to redesign Packard Bell's personal computer line.[22] They designed the cases of company's next generation of desktops with accented trim panels featuring wavy contours; these panels can be detached and replaced with ones of a different color.[22][29] With these redesigned cases, Packard Bell was the first company to use a color-coding system for the external connectors on the rear of the computer, corresponding with the color of the shroud of the plugs on the devices that Packard Bell provided with their computers (e.g., purple for keyboards, teal for mice).[30]: 142 This innovation was intended to make installation of peripherals easier and predated the PC System Design Guide standard for color-coding connectors, introduced in 1999.[31][32]
Packard Bell's Chatsworth headquarters were seriously damaged in the January 1994 Northridge earthquake—the epicenter of which was located just a few blocks from their six-building complex—grinding operations to a halt and putting 1,500 employees temporarily out of work.[33][34] Buckling racks destroyed factory equipment and inventory,[34] while the reactivation of municipal water activated sprinklers and caused substantial water damage, destroying much of the company's paperwork.[22] A week after the earthquake, its sales offices and part of its production operations were moved to a 160,000-square-foot complex in Westlake Village, California, on an interim basis.[35] The company later relocated its operations to a new headquarter complex in Sacramento (the former property of the Sacramento Army Depot), in summer 1995.[36] Its customer service team meanwhile was relocated to an out-of-state office in Utah.[35]
1995–2001: Reversal of fortunes and acquisition by NEC
[edit]Packard Bell saw gross revenues of $3 billion in 1994 and became the third-largest personal computer vendor in the United States, trailing Compaq and IBM.[12]: 388–389 In 1995, they overtook Compaq for the number one spot in American PC market share, cornering 13 percent of sales in the United States, following a 37-percent rate of growth from the previous year.[12]: 389 While the company had seen tremendous growth in the mid-1990s, the long-term efficacy of the company's core strategies were being challenged by mail-order computer vendors such as Dell and Gateway 2000, who were able to shirk the large overheads of warehousing and vending by selling build-to-order. Packard Bell's reliance on retail also imparted a large rate of return on their products, due to the unqualified return and exchange policies most of Packard Bell's retail partners afforded their customers. In 1991 alone, the company deducted $143 million in customer returns on $819 million in gross sales that year.[12]: 388 By the end of 1995, Packard Bell saw their profit drop, and they dropped to the number two spot in American PC market share, behind Compaq.[37] The company's reputation around this time was also beginning to be marred by quality control issues and subpar customer service.[38]
In April 1995, Compaq launched a lawsuit against Packard Bell for not disclosing that Packard Bell computers incorporated used parts, claiming that this practice of refurbishment without disclosure allowed Packard Bell to unfairly undercut their competition.[39] This practice was, in fact, widespread in the computer industry, including Compaq itself. However, unlike its rival companies, Packard Bell was judged not to have advertised the practice sufficiently in its warranties—Compaq, for instance, placed numerous stickers on boxes of their refurbished hardware indicating this status.[40] Attorneys general across 12 states launched investigations into Packard Bell in June 1995;[41] the following month, Packard Bell settled nine class-action suits in three states, including California, providing reimbursement in the form of $50 worth of repairs for free in the short term, establishing a $1-million fund for monetary reimbursement in the long term, and changing its warranty policy.[42] Packard Bell eventually paid $5 million to 22 states to settle the issue in September 1996.[43] Packard Bell countersued Compaq in October 1995, citing "unfair competition and defamation".[44] They settled out of court in February 1996, after Compaq themselves were facing heat from multiple states for their own refurbishment practices.[45]
In early 1996, Packard Bell acquired Zenith Data Systems from Groupe Bull of France, in a three-way deal which saw Groupe Bull and Japanese electronics conglomerate NEC increasing their existing stakes in Packard Bell.[37] Shortly after, in June 1996, NEC announced that they would acquire Packard Bell, merging it with NEC's global personal computer operations.[46] The merger was finalized in July 1996; the resulting division became known as Packard Bell NEC, selling computer systems under both NEC and Packard Bell faceplates.[38] For a brief period, Packard Bell NEC was the largest PC manufacturer, in terms of units shipped, in the United States, with 15 percent of market share;[47][48] it was also the third largest PC vendor in the world in terms of sales at the end of 1996.[49] However, Compaq overtook the number one spot from Packard Bell NEC in early 1997, at which point the latter fell behind Apple in retail sales to the number three spot.[47][50]
Between 1997 and 1998, Packard Bell posted losses totaling more than $1 billion. In the United States, price pressure from Compaq and, later, eMachines, along with continued poor showings in consumer satisfaction surveys made it difficult for the company to remain profitable and led to Alagem's departure in 1998.[51][52] In 1999, NEC began withdrawing the Packard Bell name from the American market, while keeping it in Europe, where the brand was untainted by allegations of substandard quality.[53]
2001–2006: NEC Computers International
[edit]This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (September 2024) |
By 2003, Packard Bell had offices in 24 countries—none in the United States.[50]
2006–2009: Divestiture from NEC and acquisition by Acer Inc.
[edit]In 2006, the chairman of the California-based Clifford Holdings, Lap Shun Hui, acquired the rights to the Packard Bell name from NEC for an undisclosed sum, establishing PB Holdings Company in the process. Hui was in talks with Lenovo Group of China to sell the rights to the Packard Bell name to the latter in early 2007. However, Acer Inc. of Taiwan ultimately intervened, making a binding offer to acquire PB Holdings in October 2007. Acer's acquisition of Packard Bell occurred in the aftermath of their recent takeover of Gateway in August 2007 and was said to be a strategic deal to prevent Lenovo's expansion into Europe, where Acer had a strong presence.[54] The deal was finalized between January and February 2008, Hui receiving $48.5 million in cash.[55][56]
With the purchases of Packard Bell and Gateway, Acer arranged their marketing strategy so that Gateway products were sold in the Americas and Asia, while Packard Bell products were sold in Africa, Europe and the Middle East; Acer-branded products meanwhile were sold worldwide.[57] In 2013, Acer announced that the eMachines brand will be discontinued in the low-end market but that both Packard Bell and Gateway would continue.[10]
2018–present: Revival in North America
[edit]Since the mid-2010s, the Packard Bell brand in North America has been owned by Southern Telecom, Inc., a Brooklyn-based manufacturer of consumer electronics.[58] In 2018, the company announced that it will release new computers branded as Packard Bell in this region.[11]
Notable products
[edit]- PB286LP, Packard Bell's first laptop, equipped with a 12-MHz Intel 80286 microprocessor, 1 MB of RAM, a single ISA slot, and a monochrome CGA (later VGA) screen
- Packard Bell Statesman, a notebook computer based on a chassis designed by Zenith Data Systems, running a Cyrix Cx486SLC microprocessor clocked at either 33 or 50 MHz and possessing a passive-matrix monochrome or color display
See also
[edit]- Reveal Computer Products, a short-lived peripheral manufacturing subsidiary of the company active from 1992 to 1996
Notes
[edit]- ^ The company posted a net loss that year, however, of $1 million, according to the prospectus of their cancelled initial public offering.[19]
- ^ In around 1996, Microsoft forced boot-up shells off OEM computers by updating its Microsoft Windows distribution agreement. Packard Bell subsequently discontinued Navigator in summer 1997.[27]
References
[edit]- ^ Fukuchi, Ken; Akiko Shikimori; Chris Shimizu (July 15, 1996). "Agreement Concluded Between Packard Bell and NEC on Merger of Worldwide PC Operations". NEC Corporation. Archived from the original on February 18, 2002.
- ^ Staff writer (May 11, 2007). "Afgeslankt Packard Bell van Wijchen naar Nijmegen" [Downsized Packard Bell from Wijchen to Nijmegen]. de Gelderlander (in Dutch). DPG Media. Archived from the original on October 16, 2024.
- ^ "Packard Bell opens European headquarters in Netherlands". UPI.org. United Press International. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
- ^ Hamilton, David P. (August 3, 1998). "NEC to Infuse Additional $225 Million in Packard Bell for Controlling Stake". The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company: B5. ProQuest 398766901.
- ^ "NEC disables Packard Bell NEC in the US". ZDNET. CBS Interactive. July 28, 2000. Archived from the original on October 3, 2022. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
- ^ "NEC finally pulls plug on Packard Bell". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
- ^ a b Shimizu, Chris (November 10, 1999). "NEC to Reorganize and Refocus Its Global Computer and Server Business". NEC Corporation. Archived from the original on June 2, 2002.
- ^ "Global Dispatches: Gateway to Buy Packard Bell". Computerworld. IDG Publications. October 15, 2007. Archived from the original on October 16, 2024. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
- ^ "Notice for Allowance". U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. October 7, 2008. Archived from the original on October 16, 2024. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
- ^ a b Lilly, Paul (January 27, 2013). "Acer Discontinues eMachines Brand, Gateway and Packard Bell Still Kicking". Hot Hardware. Archived from the original on January 29, 2013.
- ^ a b "Southern Telecom Relaunching Packard Bell Brand in North America". Licensing International. 2018-01-03. Retrieved 2024-12-05.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Grant, Tina, ed. (1996). International Directory of Company Histories. Vol. 13. St. James Press. ISBN 9781558626546 – via the Internet Archive.
- ^ Patton, Carole (December 7, 1987). "A New Golden Oldie Sells Its PCs with Nostalgia". InfoWorld. 9 (49). IDG Publications: 39 – via Google Books.
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- ^ Jim, Carlton (June 14, 1994). "Packard Bell Prospers Despite PC Industry Shake-Up; Computer Maker's Secret of Success: Focusing on the Consumer Market". Wall Street Journal: B4 – via ProQuest.
- ^ Todd, White (April 6, 1992). "Will Packard Bell's Share Sell as Well as Its Inexpensive PCs?". Los Angeles Business Journal. 14 (14). American City Business Journals: 1 – via ProQuest.
- ^ Todd, White (June 8, 1992). "Postponed Packard Bell IPO Still Can't Find a Date". Los Angeles Business Journal. 14 (23): 22 – via ProQuest.
- ^ a b c d Ditela, Steve (May 1995). "Movin' On Up". Upside. 7 (5): 42 et seq. – via ProQuest.
- ^ Britt, Russ (December 20, 1993). "1993 Has Been a 'Doubly' Good Year at Packard Bell". Daily Record-Wooster – via ProQuest.
- ^ Cooper, Barry (May 2, 1993). "Packard Bell Lures Novices to Computers with Easy System Software, Price". Orlando Sentinel: D6 – via ProQuest.
- ^ Staff writer (November 16, 1994). "American Personal Computer Maker Has Launched Navigator 2". South China Morning Post: 7 – via ProQuest.
- ^ Baker, Sharon M. (May 27, 1994). "Major Computer Maker Buys Ark Interface Software Firm". Puget Sound Business Journal. 15 (2). American City Business Journals: 4 – via ProQuest.
- ^ Bransten, Lisa; Don Clark (May 19, 1998). "PC Makers, Despite the Microsoft Suit, Aren't Clamoring to Control the Screen". The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company: B7 – via ProQuest.
- ^ Staff writer (November 14, 1994). "Packard Bell, in Shift, Plans to Distribute Software in Stores". The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company: B8 – via ProQuest.
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- ^ Howard, Bill (October 16, 2001). "The New Shape of PCs". PC Magazine. 20 (17). Ziff-Davis: 140–154 – via Google Books.
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- ^ Prowse, Dave (2019). CompTIA A+ Core 1 (220-1001) and Core 2 (220-1002) Exam Cram. Pearson Education. p. 253. ISBN 9780135301258 – via Google Books.
- ^ Lee, Don (January 21, 1994). "The Long Road Back: Valley Firms Struggle to Resume Operations". Los Angeles Times: 2 – via ProQuest.
- ^ a b Auguston, Karen (October 1996). "Packard Bell turns a white elephant into a top performing plant". Modern Materials Handling. 51 (13). Reed Publishing: 41 – via ProQuest.
- ^ a b Staff writer (January 25, 1994). "Packard Bell Headquarters Is Vacated Due to Quake". The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company: A4 – via ProQuest.
- ^ Staff writer (August 8, 1995). "Packard Bell Electronics Moves to Sacramento". Los Angeles Times: 12 – via ProQuest.
- ^ a b Berley, Max (February 8, 1996). "Groupe Bull Quits PCs in 3-Way Deal". International Herald Tribune. p. 11. Archived from the original on October 25, 2005.
- ^ a b Staff writer (July 16, 1996). "NEC completes Packard Bell deal". UPI.com. United Press International. Archived from the original on March 14, 2023.
- ^ Coates, James (April 11, 1995). "Computer Wars Escalate with Suit". Chicago Tribune: 3 – via ProQuest.
- ^ Rigdon, Joan E. (July 17, 1995). "FTC Inquires of PC Rivals on Used Parts". The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company: A3 – via ProQuest.
- ^ Yoshitake, Dawn (June 23, 1995). "Suit Names Packard Bell: 12-state Probe Targets False Advertising Charges". Daily News: B1 – via ProQuest.
- ^ Rigdon, Joan E. (July 14, 1995). "Packard Bell to Settle Suits Over Used Parts". The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company: B4 – via ProQuest.
- ^ Simon, Seena (September 6, 1996). "Packard Bell to settle claims for $5 million". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 3 – via ProQuest.
- ^ "Packard Bell Suing Compaq". Chicago Tribune. October 11, 1995. p. 1. Archived from the original on December 23, 2015.
- ^ Staff writer (November 21, 1996). "Compaq settles probe into used computer sales". Pantagraph. Chronicle Publishing Company: C3 – via ProQuest.
- ^ Francis, Bob (June 10, 1996). "Packard Bell, NEC join forces". Computerworld. 30 (24). IDG Publications: 32 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b Staff writer (January 19, 1997). "Compaq Ranked as Top PC Seller". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Post-Gazette Publishing Company: C2 – via ProQuest.
- ^ Menn, Joseph (November 3, 1999). "NEC Pulls Plug on Packard Bell Brand in U.S. and Plans Major Layoffs". Los Angeles Times: C1, C5 – via ProQuest.
- ^ Douglass, Michelle (December 12, 1996). "Packard Bell NEC streamlining delivery". Computer Dealer News. 12 (25). Plesman Publications: 8 – via ProQuest.
- ^ a b Reily, Edward D. (2003). Milestones in Computer Science and Information Technology. Greenwood Press. p. 195. ISBN 9781573565219 – via Google Books.
- ^ Hamilton, David P. (February 22, 1999). "Packard Bell NEC Losses Are Deeper Than Forecast". The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company: 11 – via ProQuest.
- ^ James, Geoffrey (January 2000). "Bled to Death". Upside. 12 (1): 152–156 – via ProQuest.
- ^ Hamilton, David (November 2, 1999). "NEC disables Packard Bell NEC". ZDNet. Ziff-Davis. Archived from the original on March 14, 2023.
- ^ Staff writer (October 10, 2007). "Acer's offer for parent scuttles Lenovo's plan to buy Packard Bell". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on March 14, 2023.
- ^ Ogg, Erica (January 31, 2008). "Acer officially lands Packard Bell". CNET. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on March 14, 2023.
- ^ Meller, Paul (February 27, 2008). "European Commission approves Acer's buying Packard Bell". Network World. IDG Publications. Archived from the original on March 14, 2023.
- ^ Shah, Agam (January 24, 2013). "Acer sheds eMachines, turns to Gateway and Packard Bell for post-PC era". PCWorld. IDG Publications. Archived from the original on November 13, 2021.
- ^ Fried, Ina (January 10, 2019). "Nostalgia is making a splash at CES". Axios. Axios Media.
External links
[edit]- Packard Bell
- 1986 establishments in California
- 2000 disestablishments in California
- 1998 mergers and acquisitions
- 2008 mergers and acquisitions
- Acer Inc. acquisitions
- American companies established in 1986
- American companies disestablished in 1996
- Computer companies established in 1986
- Computer companies disestablished in 1996
- Computer companies of the Netherlands
- Defunct computer companies based in California
- Defunct computer companies of the United States
- Defunct computer hardware companies
- Defunct computer systems companies
- Defunct software companies of the United States
- Former NEC subsidiaries
- Home computer hardware companies
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