SONNY , BILLWOT --- Another good forcast on CPQ / EUROPE for 1998
The Wall Street Journal -- February 4, 1998
Technology:
Europeans Turn PC Buying Into Boom,
Increasing Sales 24% in Fourth Quarter
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By Matthew Rose
Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal
LONDON -- The European personal-computer market boomed in the fourth quarter of 1997 and is becoming a main sales driver for global PC manufacturers, according to Dataquest, a market-research unit of the Gartner Group.
PC unit sales grew 24% in the fourth quarter from the year-earlier period, the highest quarterly growth in more than 2 1/2 years. Coming directly after two strong quarters earlier in 1997, the growth signals that this highly cyclical market is back on an upswing, analysts said.
"Earlier in the year, we saw signs of growth but were reluctant to call it a boom," said Steve Brazier, an associate director at Dataquest. "Clearly that has now happened."
The increase in unit-sales growth, prompted by growing consumer confidence and a slowdown in government belt-tightening, was seen across the board. Both the consumer and professional markets grew strongly, and most countries, especially the Nordic countries, posted healthy growth rates.
After being a laggard through most of 1997, consumer sales raced ahead 32% in the critical fourth quarter from a year earlier. About 40% of consumer sales are pegged to the holiday season. Even though growth was exaggerated by an especially weak year-earlier quarter, analysts said the recovery was significant. Consumer sales even outpaced the business market for the first time since early 1996. Business sales rose 21%.
Underscoring Europe's new-found confidence, Compaq Computer Corp., Intel Corp. and Dell Computer Corp. all recently pointed to Europe's growth as a significant driver of global sales. "Europe is back," said Andreas Barth, Compaq's general manager for Europe. "We are back to the good times of 1996."
The good news was spread almost uniformly among the top manufacturers, underscoring the increasing dominance of the world's top-tier computer makers. Each top-10 company increased or maintained its market share at the expense of smaller concerns such as Olivetti Computers Worldwide, Olivetti SpA's former PC division that is now a unit of U.S. holding company Piedmont International; Tulip Computers NV and Apple Computer Inc.
In particular, Dell, which sells its computers directly rather than through third parties, posted mammoth 70% growth from the year-earlier quarter. "The recent strength of European markets suggests that companies are starting to realize they need technology to compete globally," said Chief Executive Michael Dell.
Compaq maintained its lead at the top, growing about 50%, a feat that Compaq attributed to its improved manufacturing process, a new customer-service center and revamped sales force. "All the pieces of the jigsaw came together," said Mr. Barth.
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