A nice gap up to 32 3/4 this morning.
NW
RETAIL DESKTOP PC SALES END 1999 ON A SOUR NOTE AS UNIT SALES GROWTH IN
DECEMBER IS SLOWEST OF THE YEAR COMPAQ, HP PAVILION 6535 CLAIM TOP Positions
RESTON, Va., Jan 24, 2000 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- U.S. desktop PC
unit sales climbed just 12 percent in December 1999, representing the
slowest unit growth rate of any month of the year, according to PC
Data's December Retail Hardware Report.
Wintel-based PC sales increased just nine percent over December 1998
and revenues fell by nearly eight percent. For the full year of 1999,
US retail PC sales were up 23.7 percent over 1998 to an estimated 10
million units sold. Revenue was flat at approximately $9.2 billion in
comparison to 1998. The average PC price (including Apple) through
retail, mail order and online channels fell by almost 20 percent to
$916 for the year.
Although Windows PC prices jumped to $846 in December from $808 the
prior month, average prices still declined 15.5 percent from December
1998.
"The higher retail price in December reflects the tendency for
consumers to spend extra for the Holiday as well as the PC OEM's
(original equipment manufacturers) determination to deliver a more
attractive price/value solution to customers away from the lowest end
of the market," said Stephen Baker, Director of Hardware Analysis at PC
Data.
PCs priced under $1,000 represented less than 75 percent of sales in
December, the first time this number was below 75 percent since summer.
Despite this decline, the sub-$1,000 market remains the primary growth
vehicle for the industry, as unit sales under this price point
increased over 325 percent in comparison to December 1998.
Competition between AMD and Intel remained robust in December. While
Intel accounted for 70 percent of the overall retail market in
December, AMD continues to challenge at all price points. The addition
of the Athlon processor line enabled AMD to capture 20 percent of the
over-$1,000 market in the past three months. As a result, prices of PCs
with AMD processors increased from $686 in August to $758 in December.
Celeron was the number one processor for consumer PCs in December,
capturing 43.6 percent of unit sales and 55.4 percent of sub-$1,000
unit sales. PCs with this processor had an average sales price of $679.
Pentium III was also a star performer for Intel in December and
captured 25 percent of the market (at an average price of $1,275),
making it the number two processor family, ahead of the K6-2 from AMD.
Compaq led all manufacturers in retail/mail order market sales in
December with a 34.5 percent unit share. For the year, Compaq garnered
33.4 percent of unit sales and lead the market 11 of 12 months. Unit
growth for Compaq for 1999 was slightly above the market at 26.5
percent. Hewlett-Packard finished in second place with a 30.4 percent
unit share in December and 24.8 percent for the year, and continued to
close the sales gap on Compaq. In addition Hewlett-Packard led Compaq
in December in revenue on the strength of an average selling price of
$969, more than $150 above Compaq's $805. Hewlett-Packard also led all
major PC manufacturers with unit growth of more than 87 percent for the
year. EMachines was third in December with 13.4 percent market share
and 10.2 percent for the full year. Apple finished in fourth with an
11.6 percent unit share in December and 10 percent for the entire year,
resulting in unit growth in excess of 55 percent for 1999.
The number one selling PC in December was the HP Pavilion 6535, a
Celeron 466Mhz computer that sold for an average of $589. Compaq's
Presario 5441 with an AMD 475Mhz processor finished second at $540, and
the Presario 5461, powered by an AMD 500Mhz and offering a CD
rewritable drive finished third at $727.
Based in Reston, VA, PC Data has been providing point-of-sale data
since 1991 and has become the only comprehensive source of computer
software and hardware point of sale information. More than 1,000
industry professionals worldwide currently use PC Data's sales
information to maximize their competitive edge and compete in today's
marketplace. PC Data tracked approximately $48 billion in hardware and
$12 billion in software sales in 1998 in all U.S. distribution
channels. In addition to tracking software and hardware sales through
retailers, PC Data also tracks sales through educational resellers,
corporate resellers and distributors. The company's latest initiative
includes PC Data Online, an Internet monitoring and survey service.
For more information on this and other retail reports, please contact
PC Data via its web site at pcdata.com or by phone at
703-435-1025.
SOURCE PC Data
(C) 2000 PR Newswire. All rights reserved.
prnewswire.com
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CONTACT: Stephen Baker, Director of Hardware Analysis of PC Data,
703-435-1025, ext. 124, or sbaker@pcdata.com
WEB PAGE: pcdata.com
GEOGRAPHY: Virginia
INDUSTRY CODE: CPR
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