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| EMEA PC Market Records Solid Second Quarter as Notebook Demand Remains Buoyant The PC market in EMEA continued to display solid trends in the second quarter of 2007 as demand for notebooks, in the consumer and SMB segments in particular, remained a key driver across the region. Notebook shipments recorded a solid 31% growth year on year and assisted a rise in overall PC sales by 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year, at 17.5 million units, according to preliminary data released today by IDC. The momentum in the notebook market clearly continued to assist healthy sales levels in the region. Driven by a large product offering, traction for new products, and very attractive price points and promotions in the channel, notebook sales recorded another solid quarter across EMEA. Competition among the leading vendors, and from HP and Acer in particular, remained very active in the retail and SMB channels, assisting a buoyant marketing and promotional environment which directly helped stimulate purchases. Desktop shipments grew minimally at 2.4% overall, as the shift to portables continued, preventing a faster rebound in the consumer market in particular, while corporate refreshes remained moderate. Desktop growth remained mostly driven by the continued expansion of the Central and Eastern European and Middle East and Africa markets, where desktop sales grew by 12% and 9% respectively, partially offsetting the market contraction in Western Europe. Vendor Highlights HP maintained a solid performance and further reinforced its leadership in EMEA in 2Q07 with a robust 29% growth in overall shipments. The vendor continued to outperform the market across both desktop and notebook form factors, with a close to 60% increase in notebook sales, thanks to a solid product lineup, effective execution, and active marketing and promotional campaigns, which enabled HP to boost its share in both the consumer and business markets. Dell continued to suffer from slow corporate demand and fierce competition from all vendors in the notebook space, and in particular in the consumer segment due to its absence in the retail channel. Growth, however, remained healthy in the CEMA region and the current redefinition of its strategy and product refreshes for the consumer and SMB markets should allow the vendor to reinforce its position moving forward. Acer posted another strong quarter and continued to reinforce its position in EMEA with a solid 36% increase in overall shipments. The vendor maintained clear pressure in the notebook market in Western Europe and in Central and Eastern Europe thanks to a strong product lineup and active pricing campaigns in both the retail and SMB channels, while it continued to grow its presence and volumes in the desktop market. Fujitsu Siemens maintained a healthy performance in the notebook market in line with market growth, but the vendor suffered a decline in desktop shipments, and in particular in the consumer space, which affected its overall performance and led to a slight contraction of its total volumes. Toshiba maintained fifth position in the overall EMEA ranking and sustained growth of its notebook sales, albeit at a slightly lower rate than the total market as the vendor faced intense competition from the leading vendors. The vendor continued to display a strong performance in the CEE region. Lenovo and Asus, ranking sixth and seventh respectively, recorded strong performances. Lenovo maintained solid trends in both the desktop and notebook market, at 22% growth overall, while Asus continued to post outstanding growth and gain share in the EMEA notebook market. write your comments about the article :: © 2007 Computing News :: home page |