Feel-good factor should boost Europe's PC sales
Reuters Story - November 05, 1997 09:07
By Neil Winton, Science and Technology Correspondent
CANNES, France, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Personal computer sales in
western Europe were better than expected in the third quarter
and the rest of the year looked good, according to a report from
Dataquest on Wednesday.
The report said PC sales should be boosted by the economic
pickup and a return of consumer confidence.
COMPAQ Computer Corp improved its position as market
leader, capturing 16 percent of the market, the report said.
Big winners in the quarter were Hewlett-Packard Co ,
Siemens AG's Siemens Nixdorf and Dell Computer Corp
. IBM (International Business Machines Corp) ,
although retaining second place, has the look of a loser,
according to Dataquest analyst Steve Brazier.
IBM's market share slipped to 8.4 percent in the third
quarter from 9.2 percent in the same period last year. IBM has
had problems in its consumer division which has been introducing
new models in its Aptiva range.
"IBM is unable to match the power of the industry. I'm
afraid IBM is not fast enough getting its products to market.
Its market share is in decline and it is beginning to lose
second place to Hewlett-Packard," Brazier said.
"The third quarter was better than expectations, with
economies across Europe seeming to pick up and consumer
confidence returning," said Brazier.
Brazier was answering questions after making a presentation
to U.S. high technology consultancy Gartner Group's Symposium
ITxpo97. Dataquest is a division of Gartner.
"We are optimistic for the fourth quarter and the Christmas
season," Brazier said.
According to Dataquest, sales in the third quarter rose 16.9
percent to 4.03 million personal computers, compared with the
same period last year. Sales had risen 16 percent in the second
quarter, compared with an average growth rate of about 10
percent in the previous few quarters.
Standout markets in the region were Norway, up 30 percent,
and Sweden, ahead by 32 percent.
Also notable during the period was the faltering of
so-called direct - mail order and telephone - sellers, other
than Dell.
"The direct channel is losing market share in Europe. Even
Compaq tried this and made a mistake. Dell is doing well, but
others (including Gateway 2000) are failing," Brazier said.
Brazier said the belief that growth was to be found in Asia
has been stymied by the recent stock market crashes.
"These problems will lead to a downturn of PC sales in Asia.
Europe is returning as the centre of the world economy and
Europe is where the growth will come from in 1998," Brazier
said.
-- Neil Winton 44 171 542 7975 neiljinks.demon.co.uk |
