PC Sales for Jan. Rise 18.1 Pct. Y-O-Y; Desktop Sales Slow
March 5, 2001 (TOKYO) -- Japan's PC sales in January increased 18.1 percent compared with the same month in 2000, they but declined 17.5 percent from the previous month, according to Nikkei Market Access.
In the first week of January (Jan. 1-7), PC shipments surged to an all-time high of 46.7 percent over the previous year, but the shipments gradually declined during the second to fourth weeks (Jan. 8-28) to the level of 13 percent to 14 percent.
Because of the high rate of growth in the first week, the monthly growth rate managed to record an 18.1 percent rise over the previous month.
The statistics were based on figures collected by Gfk Japan Ltd., an information service company handling POS data for about 3,200 volume retailers of home electric appliances.
A decline in PC sales in January compared with December occurs regularly each year. However, in January 2000, sales remained at much the same level, registering a mere 1.3 percent decline from the previous month because of the millennium software problem.
The figure in January 1999 was down 30.0 percent and a 25.5 percent drop was seen in January 1998, each compared with the previous month. And thus the rate of decline in January 2001 was relatively small.
Yet as a whole, PC sales are gradually declining, with a notable slowdown in the growth of desktop shipments. As compared with last year, notebook models continued to see a high growth rate of 31.3 percent, but desktop PCs registered a mere 6.5 percent increase.
The main reason for this trend is that most notebook models are now equipped with a CD-RW drive, and they offer nearly the same functions as desktop models, and the price differences also have been reduced.
Gfk Japan compiles POS data from about 3,200 home electronics retailers (as of April 1998) in Japan.
With cooperation from Gfk, Nikkei Market Access issues weekly and monthly reports of PC sales in terms of volume and value. PC sales volume at outlets run by the 3,200 stores comprise nearly 20 percent of Japan's total domestic shipments, but if limited to storefront sales channels, the share is estimated to be about 40 percent of the national total.
Previous report:Japan's PC Sales in December Mark Record-High Increase
(Nikkei Market Access) |
