Product details

Taiwan has been enjoying a growth in the IT industry with a thrust on OEM/ODM (original equipment manufacturer/original design manufacturer) models, contrary to the developed companies'' emphasis on brand building. While countries like Japan and the USA had big brands like Hitachi, Toshiba, IBM (International Business Machines Corporation), HP (Hewlett Packard), and Dell, Taiwan came to be known for anonymous products manufactured on behalf of their clients. Acer Communications & Multimedia''s contract-manufacturing division supplied computer peripherals and other electronic components to multinationals like IBM and Sony, and at the same time also manufactured and marketed LCDs (liquid crystal displays) and mobile phones under its own brand name. With Acer''s two businesses running simultaneously, a conflict of interests arose with the clients. But as the global PC industry experienced a slump during the late 1990s, and with other Asian countries like China emerging as attractive destinations for low cost manufacturing compared to Taiwan, Acer perceived a threat to its business. To overcome the problem, Acer spun off its brand-name business as a new company - BenQ and the contract manufacturing business was named Wistron Corp. The case details the branding strategies adopted by BenQ to establish its brand name, and its transition from a ''no name no logo'' product, to a branded business. The case helps trigger discussion on the viability of BenQ''s branding strategies when others in the industry abstained from brand-name business.