EMachines executives move quickly to reshape Gateway.Gateway Inc. may be founder Ted Waitt's baby, but it's it's 1. Contraction of it is. 2. Contraction of it has. See Usage Note at its. it's it is or it has it's be ~have now firmly in the hands of Wayne Inouye Wayne Inouye was born in 1953 and formerly served as Gateway's president & CEO. Inouye announced his departure from Gateway on February 9, 2006. Inouye became president & CEO of privately held eMachines in 2001, where he quickly turned the company into one of the . The former chief executive of Irvine-based eMachines (eMachines, Inc., Irvine, CA, www.emachines.com) A manufacturer of PCs founded in 1998 and backed by Korean PC manufacturer TriGem Computer, monitor maker Korea Data Systems and other investors. eMachines targeted the consumer market with its first models in the sub-$500 range. Inc. is reshaping computer maker Gateway, less than three weeks after its purchase of eMachines for nearly $300 million. Two weeks ago, Inouye installed a handful of eMachines lieutenants in the upper ranks of Gateway's new management team. Seven of Gateway's top executives now hail from eMachines, while six former high-ranking Gateway leaders are leaving and another is taking on a lesser role. Then came word that Gateway plans to move from Poway Pow·ay A community of southern California north of San Diego. It is near a large naval air base. Population: 49,100. to Orange County, likely to the Irvine Spectrum. The pending move brings the core of the company closer to its new top executives, including Inouye. "The whole point is that for (Inouye) to be effective, he has to have a team in place that's responsive to him," said Roger Kay KAY Kick Ass Year KAY Kansas Association of Youth , an analyst with International Data Corp. The moves may have some wondering who bought whom. With $1 billion in yearly sales, eMachines is about a third the size of Gateway. But the Irvine-based discount computer seller is in better shape than struggling Gateway,thanks to a turnaround Turnaround A situation where a company that has had poor performance for an extended period of time experiences a positive reversal. Notes: A speculator may profit from a turnaround if he or she accurately anticipates the improvement of a poorly performing company. led by Inouye that has stressed better quality and service. Gateway sales last year fell nearly 20 percent from 2002, to $3 billion. Its operating loss operating loss The excess of operating expenses over revenue. As with operating income, operating losses exclude revenues and expenses from operations that are not considered a regular part of the business. Also called deficit. Compare operating income. was $510 million, the same as a year earlier. Inouye's emergence also likely spells the end for Gateway's own chain of 190 stores, which sell computers and other electronics under the Gateway brand. There's an "implicit understanding that the stores are going to be de-emphasized," Kay said. In a recent update for investors and analysts, Chief Financial Officer Rod Sherwood said the workforce is at 6,500, down from 7,400 at the end of 2003. That's expected to fall to 5,500 or so in the next few months, he said. Analysts expect Gateway to use eMachines' ties to Best Buy Co., Circuit City Stores Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to push its own computers and other products. |
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