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Notebooks boost PC shipments in EMEA

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 25 Jul 2016
The back-to-school season and rebound in the notebook market helped limit the PC market decline.
The back-to-school season and rebound in the notebook market helped limit the PC market decline.

Personal computer (PC) shipments in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) performed above expectations, reaching 16.1 million units in the second quarter of 2016.

This is according to the International Data Corporation (IDC), which attributes the growth to the good performance of the notebook market in EMEA.

In terms of the IDC, PC shipments include desktops and notebooks (including workstations).

The research firm says notebook shipments in Western Europe went up by 4.1%, driven by the commercial segment that registered a 10.5% increase, which brought the growth of EMEA commercial notebooks into positive territory with a 3.7% year-on-year growth.

"In EMEA, notebooks continued to outperform desktops, with improvements mainly in the commercial segment," says Andrea Minonne, research analyst, IDC EMEA Personal Computing.

Minonne explains: "Multiple factors drove this growth. In the Nordics, back to school was one key contributor to shipments. Renewals and continued expansion over desktop in some sectors and countries also led to an increase. New product designs based on Skylake and Windows 10 generated large interest among business users seeking enhanced mobility features and supported new form factor penetration from a low base."

Desktop PCs posted a 10% decline overall, in line with forecasts, in EMEA, says the IDC.

According to the research firm, in Western Europe, Brexit may bring some additional challenges to the PC market. No evidence of market contraction can be attributed directly to the referendum outcome yet, but some PC manufacturers might review their plans for next year due to uncertainty.

"The Western European market fared better than expected," says Malini Paul, senior research analyst, IDC EMEA Personal Computing.

Paul adds: "As anticipated, the commercial segment continued to drive the overall market. After several quarters of decline and a stabilisation last quarter, 2016 Q2 marked the return of commercial notebooks to positive double-digit growth.

"In the absence of Bing comparisons, the consumer segment returned to almost normal market conditions. However, inventory levels in some channels remained high. This could have an adverse impact on shipments in the next couple of quarters if products are not moving as fast as expected."

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