PC demand for the first quarter of this year was robust, with two of the top market research companies reporting growth of around 17% - 20% for the EMEA region, which includes South Africa.
Gartner reports that PC demand in Europe, Middle East and Africa was above expectations in the first quarter of 2004, with a 17% increase in shipments to 14.9 million units compared with the same period in 2003. IDC said the growth in EMEA was even greater, with growth of more than 20% in the first quarter.
Acer recorded the highest unit shipment growth at 74.8% as it continued to gain share in both the distribution and retail channels.
EMEA Q1, PC vendor unit shipments, Gartner
Rising business demand, added to the strong Euro, rapid mobile adoption, and solid demand from consumers and small and medium businesses, have driven shipment volumes, the IDC said in a statement released last week.
Gartner says the demand has primarily been driven by favourable prices and a strong demand for professional desktops, and notebook PCs.
Currency fluctuations brought on by the weakening dollar and uncertainty over global economic recovery has meant that PC prices generally have fallen hard. So far this year the dollar has had a best level of R7.4/$ and a worst of R6.32/$.
"Demand for PCs in the professional market remains strong, fuelled by the continued decline in the value of the dollar," says Brian Gammage, Gartner Research Vice President.
Gammage says the PC replacement cycle that started to materialise last year accelerated in Western Europe as buyers took advantage of increased purchasing power. Corporate resellers recorded significant increases in PC sales throughout the quarter. Distributors also reported a strong start to the quarter, but saw growth slow down during February and March.
Acer recorded the highest unit shipment growth at 74.8% as it continued to gain share in both the distribution and retail channels. Hewlett-Packard was the No. 1 vendor in the region, but saw the lowest growth among the top five vendors and lost share as inventory issues combined with the re-engineering of its channel bid business produced a stumbling performance in some markets. Dell, Fujitsu-Siemens and IBM all outgrew the market.
HP retained its lead in the notebook PC market, while Acer`s notebook PC shipments were over 100% higher than in the first quarter of 2003.
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