Taiwanese computer maker Acer, with an eye on international expansion, will take over the reins from mainland rival Lenovo Group as a worldwide sponsor for the Olympics after the Beijing Games.
The International Olympic Committee and Acer, the world's No4 personal computer supplier, are expected to announce a four-year contract that will usher in the Taipei-based firm as the first company from the island to be listed as global partner in the Switzerland-based Olympic organiser's main corporate sponsorship and marketing group, The Olympic Programme.
Acer yesterday signed an agreement with the IOC to become a TOP partner from 2009, under the programme's official computing equipment product category, for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver and for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
'The experience with the International Olympic Committee will bring a fresh and new approach,' Acer president Gianfranco Lanci said.
Acer chairman and chief executive JT Wang added that 'the universality of the Olympic Games has a strong influence' on the company. 'This principle is the basis of our winning formula to building Acer into a successful global company.'
The announcement came a day after Lenovo said it will end its worldwide Olympics sponsorship in December next year, four months after the close of the Beijing Games.
'The Olympic sponsorship makes sense for Acer's marketing strategy in light of its recent acquisition of Gateway which supplies computers to North America, and Packard Bell which has a strong presence in Europe,' said analyst Wong Chi-man of Hong Kong-based China Everbright Research.