For the third quarter running, the EMEA PC market has
surpassed expectations, expanding by more than 23% year on year in
2Q05, according to preliminary data released today by IDC's EMEA
Quarterly PC Tracker.
Outpacing forecasts in unit terms, market value is likely to
remain constrained, however, as the proliferation of entry-level
price points across the market has been a major driver behind the
unit growth levels observed. The continued rise of the dollar has
also motivated many channel players to order systems ahead of the
forthcoming back-to-school season, further boosting "sales in"
shipment levels.
Consumers continued to respond very positively to increasingly
attractive price points, which assisted strong double digit growth
in both the consumer notebook and desktop market. The proliferation
of offerings under 599 euros launched by most major vendors - in
both the retail channel and directly - has undoubtedly contributed
to the momentum around portable PCs and stimulated purchases. On
the desktop front, sales also displayed healthy trends, as
attractive digital entertainment solutions continue to stimulate
replacement cycles in the homes.
Businesses also benefited from declining price points, which
assisted further notebook penetration, particularly in the SME
market. Coinciding with improvements in data and hardware security,
growth of commercial notebook sales remained robust. Cautious
spending in the corporate space continues, however, to lead to more
moderate growth of commercial shipments overall.
"These positive unit growth results are very encouraging and
show continued market responsiveness to demand stimulants and
confirm a high end-user price elasticity but revenue growth
remains, as expected, much lower. Increased channel inventory, with
many distribution players keen to stock up for the lucrative
back-to-school season while prices are low, have also had an
additional boosting impact this quarter on "sales in" shipment
levels," said Karine Paoli, research director for IDC's European
Personal Computing group. "Declining ASPs due to a shift in the
product mix towards lower price bands have undoubtedly been an
influential factor in Q205 and may provide some insight into what
lies ahead in Q3."
"Although the current notebook phenomenon boosted growth across
most countries in Western Europe - and particularly in Southern
Europe - performances remained mixed in the region," added Elsa
Opitz, research manager for IDC's EMEA Quarterly PC Tracker. "The
business market in Germany and Italy is still affected by fragile
economic conditions, for instance, while renewal trends are slowing
down in the UK, and the Nordic region continued to enjoy very
healthy growth rates."
CEMA (Central Eastern Europe and Middle East and Africa) also
recorded outstanding growth levels, contributing to further lift
overall EMEA growth. According to Tomas Oupicky, senior analyst in
IDC's CEMA Systems group, "The healthy economic environment and
increasing demand for low-price machines are assisting the
continued expansion of the PC market in CEMA. Notebooks are rapidly
gaining share, growing by close to 100% this quarter, whilst
desktops remain the dominant force driven by low cost and
competitive deals across all end-user segments and company
sizes."
In terms of outlook for the remainder of the year, unit growth
will be higher due to notebook sales, however in revenue terms
forecasts are likely to remain the same. Challenges in the market
remain high though, with competition in the notebook space unlikely
to soften with increasing pressure felt from dedicated Asian mobile
vendors who are making increasing inroads into the European
market.
Vendor Highlights
HP has experienced
healthy growth driven by very competitive offerings in the consumer
space and notebook market, despite fierce competition from all
parts. A refresh of its desktop product line has also had a
positive effect, with the region's top vendor proving that it can
continue to compete effectively across all product lines.
Dell continued to outpace the EMEA market, again recording
robust double-digit unit growth. As it closes the market share gap
with HP across all form factors, the direct vendor's performance in
the commercial market continues to be assisted by new wins and a
continually enhanced consumer profile through a number of very
attractive home offerings.
FSC also continued to perform well with continual focus on
mobility and growth in the SMB market. The vendor also maintained a
strong performance in the consumer space whilst continuing to
expand and gain share outside Germany thanks to a competitive
offering and stronger relation with the channel across EMEA.
Acer continues to drive fierce competition in the notebook
market with aggressive price points and attractive offerings
meeting the demand of the retail channel across the region. The
vendor also delivered a strong performance on desktops and actively
prepared the forthcoming back-to-school season.
IBM/Lenovo displayed a soft performance as a result of fierce
competition and a difficult year-on-year comparison as the former
IBM PCD had recorded a strong quarter in 2Q04. Lenovo benefited
from sustained commercial demand, however, and performed well
despite the additional challenge of the transition to the new
entity.
Top 5 Vendors: Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) PC
Shipments Second Quarter 2005 (Preliminary) (000 Units) (Embedded
image moved to file: pic04872.jpg)
Source: IDC