ECS has contacted us with an official statement denying rumors that they're exiting the consumer motherboard business.
Dear Our Distinguished Customers,
We feel regret to learn the untrue report from DIGITIMES pertaining to “ECS to quit own-brand DIY motherboard business, say Taiwan makers” on Jun. 24, 2015. We like to formally clarify that ECS would never give up any opportunity to work on own-brand DIY motherboard as what we always commit to our valuable customers.
We all learn the knee competition in motherboard industry. To receive the challenge, ECS has made all the efforts to manage our own brand motherboard and create more service and value to our channel customers for years. We would continue to put more resources to provide cutting edge products and marketing events as what we just announced at Taipei Computex in early June and, therefore, enhance our brand value and your confidence level.
ECS has been cooperating with you for many years, we treasure this relationship. We will also do our best to serve your needs through our global structures. We believe, through our close cooperation, a mutually beneficial result can be achieved in a long-term relationship.
Sincerely Yours.
Sunny Yang
President, Elitegroup Computer Systems Co., Ltd.
Elitegroup Computer Systems, better known to PC enthusiasts as ECS, may soon kiss the branded motherboard market goodbye. Sources familiar with the matter claim ECS is planning to exit the DIY board market due to shrinking global demand and increased competition from major players such as Asus and Gigabyte.
ECS isn’t packing its bags and calling it quits, however. The company reportedly plans to restructure its business to focus on ODM / OEM production, assuming of course that the demand is there.
While not as big of a name as some of its competitors, ECS has put out some decent entry-level boards and even some high-end offerings over the years although not every one has been a hit. The Taiwanese company got its start in 1987 and merged with PCChips in 2005. Rumors surfaced in 2010 that Lenovo was interested in acquiring ECS although a deal never panned out.
While no specific names were mentioned, the source indicated that another branded motherboard maker will be exiting the DIY market next year. The same source said a few other well-known motherboard makers – ASRock, Micro-Star International (MSI) and Biostar – have found themselves in similar duress.
If ECS does indeed bow out of the branded motherboard market, it certainly wouldn’t be the first to do so. Companies like ABIT, DFI and Soyo were all once considered to be premium board builders but ultimately folded or shifted their business to focus on other sectors.
https://www.techspot.com/news/61108-ecs-reportedly-set-exit-consumer-motherboard-market.html
