Gateway PCs to make UK return

Gateway, the personal computer manufacturer, is making a return to the UK after a four-year absence, with Sarah Scott UK country manager in charge of the company’s advertising and marketing.

Gateway and eMachines products, including laptops and desktop PCs, will be available in Staples and Comet stores across the UK.

The company quit the UK and Asia in 2001 after it suffered poor sales in the two regions and refocused its attention on its domestic US market. The PC manufacturer was one of the fastest-growing PC suppliers in the US and acquired eMachines last year, which is now marketed as the company’s value brand.

Scott says that for the time being, no agency has been appointed to handle advertising for the brand in the UK as marketing will initially be directed at suppliers. She adds that there will also be point-of-purchase activity in stores. Gateway is now the third-largest PC company in the US. The company’s eMachines brand is sold worldwide, while its premium Gateway product is available at major retailers, through the telephone and online orders, and via its direct salesforce.

It has already bolstered its marketing department in the UK with five appointments, and its US marketing department will include 30 people.

Gateway is known for its spotted cow packaging, a reference to its heritage of being founded in 1985 in an Iowa farmhouse. It has opened a UK office in west London and has a customer support centre in Cork, Ireland.

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