BenQ
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| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Electronics |
| Predecessor(s) | Acer Communication & Multimedia[1] |
| Founded | December 2001 |
| Headquarters | Taipei, Taiwan |
| Key people | Li Kunyao (a.k.a. K.Y. Lee), Chairman; Wang Wencan (a.k.a. Jerry Wang), Vice Chairman; Li Wende (a.k.a. Conway Lee), CEO and President |
| Revenue | US $2.24 Billion (FY 2010) |
| Employees | 1,600 (2011) |
| Parent | Samsung |
| Website | www.BenQ.com |
| BenQ | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 明基電通 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 明基电通 | ||||||
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| Qisda | |||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 佳世達科技 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 佳世达科技 | ||||||
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BenQ Corporation (
/ˌbɛn ˈkjuː/; Chinese: 明基電通股份有限公司) is a Taiwanese multi-national company that sells and markets consumer electronics, computing and communications devices under the "BenQ" brand name, which stands for the company slogan Bringing Enjoyment and Quality to life .[2]
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[edit] Company
BenQ sells and markets technology products, including consumer electronics, computing and communication products. Its principal products include TFT LCD monitors and televisions, digital projectors, laptops, netbooks, All-in-One PCs, digital cameras, computer keyboards, mice, optical drives, optical discs and mobile phones.
BenQ was acquired by Samsung in 2010, and is part of that company's Consumer Products division. BenQ's head office is located in Taipei, and the company operates five branch offices in the Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America and Africa regions, and employs over 1,600 individuals. The "BenQ" brand is present in more than 100 countries worldwide.
BenQ also manufactures TFT panels (LCD) for Samsung, LG, Dell, Apple, Viewsonic through an affiliate, AUO (AU Optronics). AUO is world's # 1 manufacturer of TFT panels.[1][3]
[edit] History
[edit] Origins
BenQ was originally spun off from Acer in 2001 to provide a separate branded channel. In 2006 Acer disposed of its remaining shares in BenQ.[4]
[edit] Siemens Mobile acquisition
On October 1, 2005, BenQ Corp. acquired the mobile devices division of Germany's Siemens AG, becoming the 6th largest company in the mobile phone industry by accumulated market share. The acquisition results in a new business group, BenQ Mobile, of BenQ Corporation entirely dedicated to wireless communications. Mobile phones of the new group are marketed under a new brand, BenQ-Siemens.[5]
In late September 2006, the mobile devices division of BenQ, BenQ Mobile (Germany), announced bankruptcy when BenQ Corp. discontinued its funding. As a result, BenQ Mobile was effectively placed under the supervision of a state-appointed bankruptcy administrator. In February 2007, BenQ Mobile was finally disbanded as a suitable buyer could not be found. An estimated 2000 BenQ Mobile employees lost their jobs.[6]
On August 24, 2006 BenQ announced plans to spin off its manufacturing operations in early 2007, separating contract manufacturing and own-brand divisions.[7]
[edit] Corporate Restructuring
[edit] Spin-off of OEM division
On August 24, 2006, BenQ announced plans to spin off its manufacturing operations in early 2007, separating contract manufacturing and own-brand divisions.[8]
In April 2007, considering that the branded business has achieved sufficient profit and scale to sustain and grow its operation independently, BenQ announced the plan to spin off its branded business.
After the spin-off, BenQ Corporation was renamed Qisda Corporation, which will focus on integrated manufacturing service business, and the spun off company has succeeded the name of BenQ Corporation, which is a 100% owned subsidiary of Qisda Corp.[9]
On Sept. 3 2007, the newly spun off BenQ Corporation commenced its new operation to continue selling and marketing products under the BenQ brand name.[10]
[edit] Post-Samsung BenQ Corporation
In 2010, BenQ entered a parnership with the Korean electronics company Samsung Electronics. Samsung and BenQ largely used the venture to share financial and technical resources, but Samsung started investing in BenQ in Q2 2010 and bought it out for US $960 million later that year. Since then, BenQ's existing products have started to feature Samsung's components, and BenQ's prototype products have been introduced as Samsung's.
The combined operation has made BenQ Taiwan's No. 2 general electronics manufacturer, and has secured Samsung's position as East Asia's No. 3 electronics manufacturer.
[edit] Controversy
[edit] LCD price fixing
On December 8, 2010, AU Optronics, a subsidiary of BenQ,[11] was fined €116.8 million by the EU for its part in an LCD price fixing scheme.[12] Other companies involved were fined a total of €649 million, including Chimei Innolux, LG Display, Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd., and HannStar Display Corp..[13]
[edit] See also
- List of digital camera brands
- Products of Acquired Siemens Mobile Division
- List of companies of Taiwan
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Acer spins off peripherals unit". 5 December 2001. http://news.cnet.com/2100-1040-276665.html. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
- ^ Plunkett, Jack (2007). Plunkett's Advertising & Branding Industry Almanac 2007: Advertising. Plunkett Research. http://books.google.com/books?id=V33_57SP598C&pg=PT208&dq=benq+corporation&as_brr=3#v=onepage&q=benq%20corporation&f=false. Retrieved 20 October 2009.
- ^ http://www.infoworld.com/t/hardware/acer-leaves-benq-board-avoid-conflict-880 Acer leaves BenQ board to avoid conflict
- ^ "Acer cuts BenQ's cord". ZDNet UK. 18 April 2006. http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/desktop-hardware/2006/04/18/acer-cuts-benqs-cord-39263877/. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
- ^ http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-06/08/content_3060286.htm Xinhua Online English Edition, BenQ announces to purchase Siemens' mobile phone business
- ^ http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,440049,00.html Spiegel Online, BenQ Bankruptcy Causes Furor
- ^ http://www.infoworld.com/t/networking/benq-spin-manufacturing-operations-427 Infoworld, BenQ to spin off manufacturing operations
- ^ http://www.infoworld.com/t/networking/benq-spin-manufacturing-operations-427 Infoworld, BenQ to spin off manufacturing operations
- ^ http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2007/06/benq-is-dead-lo/ Wired, Benq is Dead, Long Live … Qisda?
- ^ http://www.forbes.com/feeds/afx/2007/09/03/afx4076047.html Forbes, Taiwan's Qisda spinoff BenQ targets 75-80 bln twd sales in 2008
- ^ BenQ Group About
- ^ Aoife White (2010-12-08). "LCD-Panel Makers Fined $649 Million by European Union for Price Fixing". Bloomberg. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-08/six-lcd-panel-makers-fined-649-million-by-european-union-for-price-fixing.html. Retrieved 2010-12-11.
- ^ http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=SPEECH/10/736&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en Joaquín Almunia Vice President of the European Commission responsible for Competition Policy Press conference on LCD cartel, Visa and French chemists' association decisions Press conference Brussels, 8 December 2010
[edit] External links
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