Gateway (NYSE: GTW), a Fortune 500 company founded in 1985, provides complete computing solutions for clients worldwide. The company employs more than 13,000 people worldwide. Gateway has headquarters in North Sioux City, South Dakota, Irvine and San Diego, California, and New York City, New York. Manufacturing facilities are located in the United States, Ireland and Malaysia.
Gateway was started in an Iowa farmhouse by Ted Waitt, now chairman and CEO, and business partner Mike Hammond, now senior vice president, manufacturing. They formed the company with one goal in mind -- to offer PC buyers an alternative to the high markups, limited choices and inadequate support common in the retail PC market.
Waitt and Hammond sold hardware peripherals and software to owners of Texas Instruments PCs. By placing ads in computer-related publications and selling their products directly to end users, they helped pioneer the industry's direct-market growth. During their first four months of business, the partners generated sales of $100,000.
In 1987, Waitt recognized another relatively untapped market of technically sophisticated clients -- people who would buy completely configured PCs, sight unseen, if offered a good price. Under Waitt's direction, Gateway designed and assembled its own fully configured PC-compatible systems for direct sale.
With the launch of its direct approach, Gateway flourished and the company began earning numerous product and service awards. In 1997, Gateway reported revenues of $6.3 billion, and garnered more than 100 professional awards.
Gateway became a publicly traded company in December 1993, offering stock on the NASDAQ market under the symbol GATE. On May 22, 1997, Gateway shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol GTW. Standard & Poor's added Gateway to the S&P 500 Index on April 24, 1998.
GATEWAY MILESTONES
1985 Ted Waitt and Mike Hammond form Gateway 2000, Inc. in Sioux City, Iowa.
1990 Gateway moves operations to North Sioux City, South Dakota.
1993 Gateway opens a customer hardware support facility in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and establishes a direct marketing and manufacturing operation in Ireland — the company's first international effort.
1994 Continuing its U.S. expansion, Gateway opens a sales and customer support facility in Kansas City, Missouri, and expands its worldwide presence with showrooms in France and Germany.
The Gateway Foundation is incorporated.
1995 Gateway acquires Osborne Computer of Sydney, Australia, and sells to the Australian market. The company opens a manufacturing facility in Malacca, Malaysia, to meet the needs of growing markets in Asia, and establishes its first Web site to communicate with clients online.
1996 Manufacturing begins at Gateway's newest plant in Hampton, Virginia. Gateway CountrySM Stores, modeled after company showrooms in Europe, open in New Haven, Connecticut, and Charlotte, North Carolina, so clients can learn about Gateway™ products "face-to-face" before buying direct.
1997 Gateway Country stores number 37 across the U.S, as the company adds new showrooms in Sweden, Australia, Germany and the United Kingdom. Gateway expands its Hampton manufacturing facility and increases production capacity by 50 percent.
Gateway becomes the first direct PC marketer to become a nationwide Internet Service Provider (ISP) by launching gateway.net. Two cosmonauts on the Mir space station place an online order from space for two G6-233 Pentium® II systems, making Gateway the first vendor in history to receive an online order from space.
1998 Gateway announces its expansion to several new business locations, adding: A new administrative headquarters in San Diego, California; Gateway Business, a new division focused on the business market, with headquarters in Irvine, California; A Web development headquarters in New York City; and A new U.S. IT development center and data processing facility
New inbound technical support centers in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, and Colorado Springs, Colorado, become operational.
The company introduces a new branding campaign and drops "2000" from its logo. It is now doing business as GATEWAY. The campaign includes a new logo, combining a hand-drawn representation of a cow-spotted box with the name Gateway in a new green font, representing growth, momentum and vitality.
Gateway introduces the Your:)WareSM Program, a revolutionary way to buy and own a customized PC.
GATEWAYTM PRODUCTS AND SERVICES Gateway is a leader in bringing new technology to market quickly and turning "multimedia" into an industry standard. Gateway systems feature Intel® processors and boast top-quality components and high-value software packages. Dataquest ranked Gateway 4th in the United States and 6th worldwide in total shipments of PCs for Q4, 1997.
HOME For home use, Gateway clients can choose from the latest systems in the company's G-Series desktop line. In 1997, Gateway increased its market share in the U.S. home market by 67 percent. Gateway Home operations are based in North Sioux City, South Dakota.
BUSINESS In 1997, more than 30 percent of Gateway's total U.S. shipments went to business customers. Gateway Business, headquartered in Irvine, California, provides corporate, education and government customers with technology solutions for their unique industries. In 1997, Gateway acquired Advanced Logic Research, Inc. (ALR), a pioneer in open, multi-processor, Intel-based PC servers. Today, ALR is part of Gateway Business.
In April 1998, Gateway reaffirmed its commitment to the reseller channel by forming Gateway Partners, the channel sales and marketing arm of Gateway Business. Based in Irvine, Gateway Partners provides current and prospective resellers with expanded sales, marketing and channel management support.
An increasing number of businesses are depending on systems integrators and value-added resellers (VARs) to help them evaluate, procure, build and maintain a wide range of high-performance computing solutions. Gateway Partners recognizes the value of this important channel, and is committed to establishing long-term, strategic relationships with VARs who specialize in the integration, deployment, application and network support of servers.
Gateway Partners' principal areas of channel development include new programs that incorporate the best elements of the company's existing efforts to help VARs better address the evolving needs of the business and institutional markets they serve. VARs can take advantage of Gateway's custom integration service and short delivery schedules, thereby reducing unnecessary cash requirements, inventory exposure and hardware customization efforts.
COUNTRY STORES At Gateway Country stores, customers can see, touch, test and custom configure a system to meet their needs with the help of highly trained sales representatives. Gateway builds the system at its factories and ships it directly to a customer's home or business. There were 58 Gateway Country stores located across the U.S. by the end of the second quarter, 1998. Gateway Country operations are based in North Sioux City, South Dakota.
CONVERGENCE In 1996, Gateway introduced the Destination® Big Screen PC/TV, combining the impact of high quality, big-screen television with the intelligence of a computer. The Destination was the first convergence product of its kind in the industry, establishing a new category that unites the best elements of a state-of-the-art multimedia computer with the visual drama of home theater systems. In October 1997, Gateway introduced the successor to the Destination Big Screen PC/TV, the Destination digital media computer (DMC). GATEWAY.NET
Gateway, the first PC marketer to become a nationwide Internet Service Provider (ISP), launched gateway.netSM internet service in 1997. Consumers who purchase Gateway computers can register for gateway.net accounts that include one email address, ftp access, 24-hour tech support, newsgroups, and full access to the World Wide Web. To visit gateway.net, members dial a special phone number that directs calls through a 100 percent digital long distance network for the highest possible connection speed. Clients aren't charged for the call — it's included in the price of the service. SERVICE AND SUPPORT
Gateway owners will find a variety of service and support resources on the company's Web site, www.gateway.com, including lists of frequently asked questions, customer support newsletters and a Gateway-specific public newsgroup. Gateway has other host Web sites in Australia, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Asia, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The Gateway Gold Service and Support Agreement provides support and service benefits to all Gateway owners at no additional charge, including expanded 24-hour, seven days a week, 365 days a year telephone technical support.
For an added charge, members of the Gateway Gold Premium Service and Support Agreement can access Gateway technicians via a dedicated 800 number. Awards
Gateway has been honored year-after-year with awards for products and service. Top awards from around the world for the first quarter of 1998 include: U.S. Publications
PC World named Gateway as the best company from which to buy a PC either direct or via the Web in its cover story "Store Wars, The Best and Worst Places to Buy a PC." PC Computing named Gateway the number one provider of technical support in the direct PC market. Editor's Choice award from PC Magazine for the Solo 2300 #1 Top 10 Power notebook from PC World for the Solo 2300XL
Gateway desktop PCs received 10 PC World Best Buy awards
Best Value Desktop from Computer Shopper for the GP5-166
Editor's Choice from c/net computers.com for the G6-300 Gateway's Web site, www.gateway.com, received top score in a USA Today/Intelliquest survey of PC vendors that sell PCs over the Internet. European Industry Publications
UK PC Home, March 1998, Gold Award, G5-166M
PC Advisor, May 1998, Best Buy, G6-333XL
PC Magazine, May 1998, Editors Choice
PC Advisor, May 1998, Best Buy, Solo 9100 S5-266XL
France Info PC, January 1998, Magazine's Choice, G6-300XL
Info PC, March 1998, Editors' choice, 9100 S5-266XL
Germany PC Magazine, April 1998, System of the Year, G6-300XL
PC Magazine, April 1998, Portable of the Year, Solo S5-233XL
Sweden PC Extra, February 1998, Best Value, Solo 2300
Benelux Computer!Totaal March 1998, Best Buy, G6-333XL
Australia/New Zealand Publications Sydney Morning Herald, January 98, Best product of 1997, G6-266
Internet.Au, January 98, Readers Awards – Most Popular Computer, G6-300
PC World, February 98, #1, #6 Corporate Top Ten, GP5-200, G6-233
PC User, February 98, PCs for first-time buyers – Best Buy, GP6-233
PC World, March 98, #1, #2 Top Ten Blue Chip PCs, GP5-200, G6-233
Japan Nikkei Personal Computing, Ranked No 1 in Portables Performance Ranking, Gateway Solo 9100 233XL
For further information, call 1-800-GATEWAYSM
Gateway 2000 Major Accounts, Inc., and Gateway Business, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Gateway 2000, Inc.
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