Kemble, "I don't see any particularly sad faces around Dell these days,"
European Sales of PCs Stay Strong
On Small-Business, Retail Buying
European personal-computer sales are remaining robust in the fourth quarter, as strong
small-business and retail buying is more than offsetting a substantial drop in corporate
purchasing ahead of the millennium change, according to market researcher Context.
Based on preliminary figures, London-based Context expects fourth-quarter PC unit
sales in Europe to rise by between 15% and 18%. This comes after a 21% rise in the
third quarter, when large corporations were still buying computers as part of their
year-2000 preparations.
With the new year just around the corner, fourth-quarter corporate sales have been hit
hard. Context estimates that PC sales to large companies in the U.K. fell 45%
in October and 33% in November from a year earlier. In Germany the picture
was better, with corporate PC sales growing 30% in October and then slowing
to a 6% rise in November.
PC makers that depend heavily on corporate sales were most affected. International
Business Machine Corp.'s U.K. sales were down 42% or more in October and
November. Compaq Computer Corp.'s sales in Britain fell 9% in October but
rose 10% in November
Context partner Jeremy Davies said he had little data on Dell Computer Corp.'s sales,
but he expected the company to do well because of a strong presence in small- and
medium-size companies. "I don't see any particularly sad faces around Dell these days,"
he said.
Overall, the fourth quarter looked pretty good. As many small businesses are still
working on Y2K programs, they are still buying new computers. Consumers are
snapping up ever-more-affordable home computers as they rush to get hooked up to
the Internet.
"The whole Internet phenomenon has been moving much faster than anyone expected,"
Mr. Davies said. "So you've got pent-up retail demand that is kicking in because prices
have come down so much." |
