Solid Growth for Direct PC Sales in Asia- Know any direct seller in Asia?
Hey Pat:
You know of any direct seller of PCs in Asia who might benefit from this new trend,eh?I hear there a new one in China?
HeeeeeeeHaaaaaaaaw!!!!
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Source:Dataquest.
GartnerGroup's Dataquest Reports Solid Growth for Direct Sales in Asia/Pacific PC Market
Reseller PC Volume Drops to 62 Percent of Market in First Half of 1998 Hong Kong, September 28, 1998—While the Asia/Pacific personal computer market has experienced slow growth this year, PC shipments through direct sales channels during the first half of 1998 in Asia/Pacific—outside of Japan—increased 15 percent over the same period last year, according to Dataquest, a unit of Gartner Group, Inc. (NYSE: IT). Total PC shipments for the region grew just 3 percent over the first half of 1997.
From January through June of this year, more than 1.6 million PCs were ordered in Asia/Pacific through a combination of vendor salesforces; vendor retail operations; and direct fax, telephone, and Internet facilities. Asia/Pacific PC shipments sourced through resellers declined by more than 3 percent from the first half of 1997 for a total of nearly 2.7 million units in the first half of 1998.
While much of the Asia/Pacific market has slipped further into a recession, the PC market in China has posted healthy growth because of the popularity of unbranded white boxes. White box PCs accounted for 27 percent of all first half 1998 shipments in Asia/Pacific and 60 percent of all units ordered directly by end users in this period. PC shipments in the China market alone (excluding Hong Kong) exceeded 1.4 million units in the first half of 1998, accounting for one-third of the region's total units. More than 600,000 PCs were ordered through direct means in China during the first half of the year.
"Continued growth in the volume of direct-channel PCs in Asia/Pacific is a reflection of massive white box consumption, and the impact of large markets like China that are still growing this year," said Lane Leskela, senior industry analyst for Dataquest's Asia/Pacific PC and Printer Distribution Channels program.
Margin pressure from local brands and white boxes configured by PC stores and dealers from standardized, low-cost components are affecting the competitiveness of some traditional brands. The region's PC component volume remains high in the wake of tremendous price erosion from the original manufacturers. "Asia/Pacific is already seeing the sub-U.S.$500 PC creep in to the market, courtesy of the white box assemblers," said Mr. Leskela. "This process will continue to erode margins and PC market share for international brand resellers who will be forced to focus on higher-margin systems and value-added services."
Channel consolidation is an inevitable trend in Asia/Pacific as buying power continues to diminish and the region's PC market grows less attractive to official resellers. "With white box and entry-level PC prices eroding traditional margins, the low-cost/high-availability direct order model is reinforced in the Asia/Pacific market this year," said Mr. Leskela. "Dataquest expects PCs ordered through direct means to rise to as much as 40 percent of the region's shipments by the end of 1998."
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