Western Europe Saw Another Quarter of Strong Growth, But UK Remained Weak
Egham, UK, 25 August 2010 — PC shipments in Western Europe totalled 15.6 million units in the second quarter of 2010, a 19.6 per cent increase from the same period in 2009, according to Gartner, Inc.
“Western Europe showed continued growth in the second quarter, recovering quickly from the slowdown seen in the first half of 2009,” said Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner. “The PC market has so far defied the general economic downturn, but the real test will be in the second half of 2010, since we saw a stronger second half in 2009.”
“The strong performance in the second quarter of 2010 was partly due to a weak second quarter of 2009. For a better comparison, the PC market in Western Europe grew 6 per cent compared with the second quarter of 2008, indicating not only a recovery but good underlying market strength. Economic concerns in several southern European countries (Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece) created uncertainty in the PC market and caused more volatility in the second quarter of 2010, rather than softening overall demand,” said Mr Atwal.
The consumer market continued to perform significantly above the professional segment, driven by consumer notebooks and expanding sales of all-in-one desktop PCs. Demand for mini-notebooks slowed down, especially in Western Europe. For the first time, mini-notebook growth reached less than 10 per cent, below the growth rate of standard mobile PCs. However, the mini-notebook market has established a strong position in the market and represented 19 per cent of all mobile PC sales in Western Europe.
The improvement in demand from the professional market was relatively modest in the second quarter. The professional market has been affected by the economic conditions and unit price increases, causing some PC purchases to be delayed.
In the second quarter of 2010, Acer moved to the No. 1 position in Western Europe (see Table 1) as a result of strong growth in consumer PCs. ASUS and vendors outside the top five experienced strong growth, with Apple, Sony, Samsung and Lenovo all growing above 30 per cent in the second quarter.
“Despite the increased economic concerns, the Western European PC market is the most competitive we have seen for many years,” said Mr Atwal. “It is now a market influenced by the top 10, and not just by the top five vendors.”
Table 1
Western Europe: PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 2Q10 (Thousands of Units)
|
Company
|
2Q10
Shipments
|
2Q10
Market Share (%)
|
2Q09
Shipments
|
2Q09
Market Share (%)
|
2Q10-2Q09
Growth (%)
|
|
Acer
|
3,696
|
23.7
|
2,846
|
21.8
|
29.9
|
|
HP
|
3,376
|
21.6
|
3,014
|
23.1
|
12.0
|
|
Dell
|
1,572
|
10.1
|
1,514
|
11.8
|
2.0
|
|
ASUS
|
1,325
|
8.5
|
679
|
5.2
|
95.1
|
|
Toshiba
|
917
|
5.9
|
767
|
5.9
|
19.5
|
|
Others
|
4,737
|
30.3
|
4,239
|
32.3
|
12.5
|
|
Total
|
15,622
|
100.0
|
13,059
|
100.0
|
19.6
|