HP out front in PC market, consumer shipments ahead of expectations

Peter Dinham
Thursday, 16 April 2009 19:40

Business IT - Technology

Stories abound day in day out on the damage the global economic crisis is doing to all industries and many businesses, but there’s a new report just out revealing that PC demand has remained relatively resilient in the face of this downturn compared to the last.

IDC’s latest report reveals that while PC prices have fallen, fuelled in part by mini notebook PCs and added effort in channel development, the price drops have, in fact, helped to minimise the market contraction.

According to IDC, low-cost portable PCs continue to appeal to consumers and support growth in the PC market, with worldwide PC shipments (including desktop and portable PCs, but excluding x86 servers) down 7.1% year over year in the first quarter of 2009 – slightly better than a projected decline of 8.2%.
 
The United States fared well, with shipments falling only 3% as HP, Acer, and Toshiba, according to IDC, leveraging portable sales into solid growth. In addition, IDC reports, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Asia/Pacific excluding Japan also came in slightly better than expected.
 
HP grew 2.9% overall and claimed the number 1 spot in the U.S. , with IDC reporting that the company’s sales were boosted by solid demand in consumer notebooks, especially in United States and Japan, which saw double-digit growth in part from a strong showing in the retail channel.
 
Internationally, HP shipments were down just 1% from a year ago while the total market was down near 8%, IDC reports.

Commenting on other vendors, IDC reported that Dell “had a tough quarter across the board, though it fared better in some emerging regions”;  Acer “had a solid quarter with shipments increasing nearly 7% from a year ago,” and “the company continues to expand rapidly in the Americas”; Lenovo saw “total growth in-line with the market as gains in Asia/Pacific offset losses elsewhere”; Toshiba “finished 1Q09 with 11.6% growth,” and “its continuing focus on Portable PCs contributed to share gains in every region.”
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