Netbook explosion takes Acer to number 1, Asus to number 4 in EMEA

Stan Beer
Friday, 17 October 2008 17:42

IT Industry - Market

"Mini notebooks saw a surge during the back-to-school season with IDC estimating over 2 million units shipped in EMEA in 3Q08," said Eszter Morvay, senior research analyst for IDC's EMEA PC Tracker.

"Although the retail channel remained the primary route-to-market to reach consumers, mini notebook volumes were further boosted by the rising number of telco deals across several countries, enticing customers with free laptops bundled with mobile broadband, benefiting Asus and Acer in particular.

"Whilst the retail shelves were dominated by Asus in the first half of the year, the competition heated up over the summer months with Acer deploying strong push across the region. The appealing product design coupled with the right price point earned Asus and Acer a combined market share of over 80% in this rapidly expanding market.

"Mini notebooks are clearly shaking up the competitive landscape, which is likely to get even more fierce in the pre-Christmas season with several vendors launching products from October, and potentially pushing mini notebooks volumes in EMEA towards the 4 million range in 4Q08," Morvay added.

"While the financial crisis that hit Europe in October may lead to intensifying economic pressure over the coming months and slowing business investment trends, the development expected of the new 'Mini Notebook' segment could well balance the impact of any potential downturn and maintain buoyancy in the EMEA PC market in 2009, at least in unit terms. Continued price erosion and potential currency fluctuations will however add pressure in revenue and profit terms for several vendors," added Paoli.

Vendor Highlights

This quarter marked significant change in the top vendor ranking in EMEA with Acer taking the number 1 spot in EMEA while Asus stepped further up to fourth place in the overall ranking

Acer made an explosive entry in the mini notebook market, which, combined with continued growth of its mainstream notebooks as well as desktops, propelled the Taiwanese vendor to the number 1 position in the overall EMEA PC market ranking for the first time. Acer deployed a massive push of its Aspire One across both the retail and telco channels, which contributed to soaring volumes, further strengthening its position in the notebook market. The vendor also continued to gain share in the desktop space, benefiting from the exit of local players from the Western European desktop market.

HP displayed solid growth at over 20% overall in EMEA, further strengthening its position in the desktop market, benefiting from corporate renewals in Western Europe and continued expansion in the CEMA region. However notebook growth remained below expectations as the vendor was not able to leverage from the current buoyancy in mini notebook demand. As a result, HP's performance was constrained particularly in the consumer segment, and pushed vendor into second place in the overall EMEA ranking

Dell maintained positive growth and a strong third place in the overall EMEA ranking although share declined slightly. The vendor continued to leverage from its solid business footprint, and maintained strong positions across both commercial desktop and notebook markets in Western Europe, whilst driving further expansion in CEMA. However Dell also suffered from the late and limited launch of its mini notebook, which constrained overall notebook volumes this quarter.

Asus stepped further up to fourth place shipping over 2 million units this quarter, leveraging from the unabated success of the Eee PC product range. Boasting the largest mini notebook portfolio with varied spec options, the vendor maintained strong push into the retail channel, whilst sealing a multitude of deals with telco operators across EMEA. The elevated exposure and brand recognition gained through the Eee PC also contributed to strong growth of its mainstream notebook portfolio.

Toshiba continued to deliver solid performance with growth reaching over 40% across EMEA. The vendor's results were driven by sustained expansion in MEA and CEE in particular, whilst maintaining healthy performance in Western Europe as well, despite the lack of a mini notebook offering.

Top 5 Vendors: Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) 3Q08 PC Shipments* (Preliminary) (000 Units)

Vendor	3Q07 Shipments	3Q08 Shipment	3Q07 Share	3Q08 Share	3Q08/3Q07 Growth
Acer (1)	3,113	5,920	14.2%	21.3%	90.2%
Hewlett-Packard	4,291	5,203	19.6%	18.7%	21.3%
Dell	2,351	2,659	10.7%	9.5%	13.1%
Asus	805	2,060	3.7%	7.4%	156.0%
Toshiba	1,137	1,628	5.2%	5.8%	43.2%
Others	10,240	10,387	46.7%	37.3%	1.4%
Total	21,936	27,857	100.0%	100.0%	27.0%
Acer/Gateway/ Packard Bell (2)	3,621	5,920	16.5%	21.3%	63.5%