LONDON, July 31, 2002 - According to preliminary data released by IDC, Spanish PC shipments recorded a decline of 6.6% in 2Q02 compared with the same period last year. Market trends remained unchanged from the previous quarter. Corporate IT demand failed to recover and vendors continued to battle in both the SMB and consumer segment under rather tough market conditions.
The PC market continued to experience high pressure. Vendors are suffering not only from cautious business spending attitudes but also from lower consumer confidence. Retail and SMB sales remained healthy overall, but were primarily driven by active vendor initiatives into the channel as well as attractive price-points (of both desktop and notebook products). Only notebook sales registered positive growth at 7.5% year-on-year in the Spanish PC market.
"Signals of recovery in large accounts were detected at the end of the first quarter", said Angela Salmeron, Research Analyst for IDC's European Personal Computing Group. "However, the current volatile situation of the international financial markets and worsening financial conditions in Latin American countries has led to the further deterioration of business confidence, resulting in tighter IT budgets for the forthcoming months", she continued. As a consequence, desktop sales continued to register negative growth, at 11.5%, and SIAS shipments returned to a sales decline of 12.2%, indicating a clear deceleration of IT infrastructure projects among businesses.
The SMB market along with government organizations continued to generate the bulk of business PC demand. Targeting these market segments through improved channel program has become a core strategy, as well as a battlefield, for most vendors.
Overall, and despite a slowdown in the second quarter, consumer demand continued to be healthy. Active initiatives from vendors generated positive results in desktop sales as well as excellent results in notebook shipments. The retail market in Spain, as has occurred in other Western European countries, is succeeding in reaching greater numbers and types of PC buyers. Multispecialist chains and, to a larger extent, department stores, supermarkets, and PC superstores, are gradually gaining control of the home PC market.
High pressure on pricing remained unaltered from the previous quarter. Despite rising component costs and a gradual inclination of the market towards higher-end product purchases, intense vendor competition prevented any relevant price increases during the quarter.
"The outlook for the Spanish PC market remains uncertain. The country's economy depends largely on external factors and, unless clear signals of improvement in financial markets restore business confidence, a rebound of PC renewal sales is rather unlikely in the short term. Vendors, nevertheless, will continue to seek gains in PC sales through both a stimulation of consumer demand, actively encouraging smoother purchasing cycles, and further exploration of a currently under-penetrated SMB market," added Salmeron.
Vendor Performance Highlights
Vendor performance continued to be affected by weak corporate demand. Aggressive bids in the government market, the success of channel program addressing the SMB segment, and intense competition in the retail market can largely explain the positive results of some vendors.
HP regained first position in the overall ranking. The acquisition of Compaq gives HP a clear lead in the Spanish PC market, well ahead of other competitors, holding about 22% of market share. The vendor, nevertheless, continued to suffer from low business demand.
Dell dropped to second position despite recording sustained PC sales. Its direct model and aggressive approach to the business market and, to a lesser extent, to consumers, continued to be key for the vendor's overall positive performance.
Fujitsu Siemens continued to outperform the market, with 33.8% sales growth year-on-year. The vendor reported double-digit growth rates in desktop, notebook, and SIAS sales.
Airis Computer gained one position in the overall ranking but dropped to second position in the notebook market (behind Toshiba). The vendor, nevertheless, recorded triple-digit growth and remains a serious challenge for most local and A-vendors in the mobile space.
IBM continued to suffer from weakening corporate sales. However, the vendor reported major gains through the success of its "Top Seller Programme".
Acer recovered from last quarter's negative performance and managed to record sustained results year-on-year thanks to healthy notebook sales, which represent over 60% of total PC sales. The vendor continued to succeed in the government and SMB markets.
Toshiba gained the number one spot in the notebook market, benefiting from sustained business sales and healthy notebook demand in the retail space.
Local vendors Adli, Datalogic, and Jump continued to display positive performance thanks to aggressive retail initiatives.
Top 10 Vendors, Spain PC Shipments
(Preliminary Results), 2Q02 (% Unit)
|-----------------+----------------+-------------->
| | | |
| Vendor | Share 2Q01 | Share 2Q02 |
| | | |
|-----------------+----------------+-------------->
>---------------------------------------------------|
| |
| Growth 2Q02 vs 2Q01 |
| |
>---------------------------------------------------|
|-----------------+----------------+-------------->
| | | |
| HP * | 28.6% | 22.1% |
| | | |
|-----------------+----------------+-------------->
>---------------------------------------------------|
| |
| -27.7% |
| |
>---------------------------------------------------|
|-----------------+----------------+-------------->
| | | |
| Dell | 9.9% | 10.7% |
| | | |
|-----------------+----------------+-------------->
>---------------------------------------------------|
| |
| 1.8% |
| |
>---------------------------------------------------|
|-----------------+----------------+-------------->
| | | |
| Fujitsu Siemens | 5.7% | 8.2% |
| | | |
|-----------------+----------------+-------------->
>---------------------------------------------------|
| |
| 33.8% |
| |
>---------------------------------------------------|
|-----------------+----------------+-------------->
| | | |
| Airis Computer | 3.2% | 7.1% |
| | | |
|-----------------+----------------+-------------->
>---------------------------------------------------|
| |
| 108.3% |
| |
>---------------------------------------------------|
|-----------------+----------------+-------------->
| | | |
| IBM | 10.2% | 6.6% |
| | | |
|-----------------+----------------+-------------->
>---------------------------------------------------|
| |
| -39.7% |
| |
>---------------------------------------------------|
|-----------------+----------------+-------------->
| | | |
| Acer | 5.2% | 5.6% |
| | | |
|-----------------+----------------+-------------->
>---------------------------------------------------|
| |
| -0.2% |
| |
>---------------------------------------------------|
|-----------------+----------------+-------------->
| | | |
| Toshiba | 5.9% | 5.6% |
| | | |
|-----------------+----------------+-------------->
>---------------------------------------------------|
| |
| -11.5% |
| |
>---------------------------------------------------|
|-----------------+----------------+-------------->
| | | |
| ADLI | 2.3% | 3.1% |
| | | |
|-----------------+----------------+-------------->
>---------------------------------------------------|
| |
| 26.9% |
| |
>---------------------------------------------------|
|-----------------+----------------+-------------->
| | | |
| Data Logic | 2.0% | 3.1% |
| | | |
|-----------------+----------------+-------------->
>---------------------------------------------------|
| |
| 43.1% |
| |
>---------------------------------------------------|
|-----------------+----------------+-------------->
| | | |
| Jump | 2.8% | 2.9% |
| | | |
|-----------------+----------------+-------------->
>---------------------------------------------------|
| |
| -1.5% |
| |
>---------------------------------------------------|
|-----------------+----------------+-------------->
| | | |
| Others | 24.3% | 25.0% |
| | | |
|-----------------+----------------+-------------->
>---------------------------------------------------|
| |
| -4.1% |
| |
>---------------------------------------------------|
|-----------------+----------------+-------------->
| | | |
| Total | 100% | 100% |
| | | |
|-----------------+----------------+-------------->
>---------------------------------------------------|
| |
| -6.6% |
| |
>---------------------------------------------------|
Shipments are branded shipments and exclude OEM sales for all vendors.
Data for all vendors are reported for calendar periods.
*HP = Data for HP includes HP and Compaq combined.
Source: IDC EMEA, Preliminary Results 2Q02
About IDC
IDC is the foremost global market intelligence and advisory firm helping clients gain insight into technology and ebusiness trends to develop sound business strategies. Using a combination of rigorous primary research, in-depth analysis, and client interaction, IDC forecasts worldwide markets and trends to deliver dependable service and client advice. More than 700 analysts in 43 countries provide global research with local content. IDC's customers comprise the world's leading IT suppliers, IT organizations, ebusiness companies, and the financial community. Additional information can be found at www.idc.com.
IDC is a division of IDG, the world's leading IT media, research and exposition company. # # #
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For more information, contact:
Angela Salmeron
+44 (0) 20 8987 7189
asalmeron@idc.com
Terry Cummings
+44 (0) 20 8987 7231
tcummings@idc.com
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Date: September 16-17, 2002
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