European Third-Quarter PC Sales Rise 19.3%,
Context Says
10/25/99 2:48:00 AM
Source: Bloomberg News
London, Oct. 25 (Bloomberg) -- European personal computer sales grew
19.3 percent in the third quarter as demand from small and medium-sized
companies offset delays in purchases by bigger companies on concern
about the year 2000 date change, said market researcher Context Ltd.
While sales in Europe rose to 6.5 million units, the growth was less than
22.4 percent recorded by Context in the same period last year. It also
lagged the 23 percent growth this quarter in the U.S., reported by
International Data Corp. European PC shipments are expected to rise
about 18.5 percent next quarter.
Concern that computers might malfunction
by misreading the year 2000 as 1900 and
calculate time backwards have affected
corporate purchases of PCs. International
Business Machines Corp. shares fell 12
percent last week when the world's top
computer maker warned the so-called
millennium bug will hurt sales.
''What's rescuing the industry are small
and mid-sized businesses that haven't
stopped buying,'' said Jeremy Davies,
senior partner at Context, in an interview.
''It's not been the bloodbath that some
expected.''
Top PC maker Compaq Computers Corp.
kept its position as the market leader with
an 18.2 percent market share. Its shipments grew 19.3 percent, the
same as the rest of the industry. In the same period last year however,
its sales increased 39 percent.
Dell Computer Corp., the top direct PC seller, grew fastest, with
shipments increasing 50 percent to 672,000 units for third spot. Still, its
growth rate was half of that last year.
A venture between Fujitsu Ltd. and Siemens AG ranked second, with a
14 percent market share. IBM was fourth with 8 percent of the market.
Apple Computer Inc. sales fell by a third to 115,000 units from that last
year. It did not rank among the top 10 PC makers.
Computer sales rose 22.8 percent in Spain and the Netherlands, the
highest in Europe. Shipments in Germany and the U.K., Europe's top two
markets, increased 20.7 percent and 22 percent, respectively. Sweden,
where employee-purchase plans boosted sales last year, saw sales
decline 23.5 percent.
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