Gateway logs off

US gadget lovers trickled into Gateway stores for the last time, picking over nearly-depleted stock on the final day of business for the computer maker’s 188 American stores.

About 2,500 employees – nearly 40% of the company’s work force – are losing their jobs because of the store closures.

Gateway’s US stores accounted for about one-third of the company’s revenue of €3bn last year, according to analyst estimates, but Wayne Inouye, Gateway’s new chief executive officer, said they were too costly to keep open.