Wednesday, November 14th 2007
Wistron Quits on Xbox 360
Wistron is reported to have phased out of Xbox 360 production and has ended its six year cooperation with Microsoft, according to DigiTimes. With Microsoft dropping its selling price of the Xbox 360 console earlier this year, it tried to push the profit pressure onto its three OEMs, Wistron (who accounted for 40% of shipments), Flextronics (40%) and Celestica (20%), by asking them to lower their OEM prices. Wistron decided to stop taking Xbox 360 orders at the end of the third quarter after trying to negotiate with Microsoft over a quarter long period. Flextronics has taken over the majority of the Xbox 360 orders, increasing its OEM production to over 60% of total shipments, while Celestica still remains as a second OEM. Sources at component makers commented that with Wistron giving up on the Xbox 360, not only can the company prevent lowering of its gross margin, which dropped to 5.49% in the third quarter, it will also benefit the company over its growth into different markets. Wistron declined the opportunity to comment on this report.
Source:
DigiTimes
8 Comments on Wistron Quits on Xbox 360
...:confused:
Lowering their Gross Margin doesn't mean they're losing money. As long as there IS a margin, they're making a profit. The simple fact is, they have alternative high-margin companies/products with which to devote their resources, thus, maximizing their profits. It's not like they're taking a stab at MS.