Europe, Middle East and Africa region sees 10.5 percent year-on-year increase in units shipped in 2Q2014 following seven quarters of consecutive decline.
IDC reported that PC shipments in EMEA reached 21.9 million units during the second quarter of the year, with Western Europe seeing the most growth as the region experienced “strong enterprise renewals” in the SMB space following the end of support for Windows XP, which contributed to an overall increase of 25 percent in the PC market.
The growth in Western Europe was also fuelled by an increase in commercial shipments of 26.9 percent as improving macroeconomic outlook strengthened business confidence. IDC added that this is “clear confirmation” that PCs remain key productivity tools for enterprises. The consumer segment also saw shipments accelerate, with some markets returning to levels of business close to their capacity. Shipments in Spain, Germany and the Netherlands particularly took off, with sell-in up by more than 40 percent.
The CEE (Central and Eastern Europe)region however declined by 13.2 percent as it continued to be impacted by the “unstable political and economic situation in Russia and by currency fluctuations”. Meanwhile the MEA region saw a modest increase in shipments of 1.9 percent.
The overall increase in shipments covered both portable PCs, which grew 8.3 percent, and desktop PCs, which increased 14.1 percent. However, IDC stated that the total increase in shipments “indicates a rebound in the market but not a recovery” due to shipment volumes still being below the 25 million unit mark seen in 2010 and 2012.
Chrystelle Labesque, Research Manager for IDC EMEA Personal Computing, said: “The clear improvements in EMEA are positive signs for PC manufacturers. However, there was still a big difference between the subregions, and especially in the consumer segment the divide between mature and emerging markets is similar to the worldwide trend.
“While some parts of the CEMA [Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa] PC market continued to suffer from unfavourable exchange rates and a difficult political situation, Western European shipments were fuelled by low-end consumer notebooks. Even if the comparison is eased by a very poor second quarter of 2013, more attractive products at the right price points encouraged more consumers to renew their devices.”
Commenting on the CEMA region, Stefania Lorenz, Associate Vice President, IDC CEMA, explained that the region had been “affected by the expected contraction from the Eastern countries: Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan. Russia and Ukraine suffered mostly from a slowdown in consumer demand, affected by the instability in both the economic and political situation, as well as high unemployment and a salary freeze. Kazakhstan remains affected by the dramatic currency devaluation, which is not expected to improve in the short term.”
However, Nikolina Jurisic, Product Manager at IDC CEMA, noted that “the central region has performed well above expectations”, with countries including Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and Czech Republic reporting “strong double-digit growth year-on-year” as “PC growth was driven by both consumer and commercial segments, thanks to continual improvement in channel strategies from the players in the market, as well as the expected renewal of XP that is taking place”.
In terms of vendors, HP led the market with growth of more than 27 percent, aided by the OEM’s new product portfolio boasting “a strong product offer for consumers” as well as “effective strategy execution around One HP”. Lenovo followed as it achieved “significant” expansion across the region in the quarter, with a share of almost five percent. The company also increased its share in all three subregions; with its “wide product offering, channel coverage, and execution of the ‘protect and attack’ strategy” helping it to achieve “large gains in the consumer space in particular”.
Acer, Dell and ASUS took third, fourth and fifth positions respectively; with Acer outperforming the market “driven by Western Europe and the Middle East and Africa”. The reintroduction of its Extensa line-up provided growth in the commercial segment, while a new portfolio gave it stronger positioning in the consumer space.
Dell meanwhile performed in line with the market on the consumer side but missed out on the consumer volume rebound due to its weaker presence in that segment. The company “continued to leverage its commercial strength and the investment made in building an indirect channel in recent quarters, with the SMB segment being the most promising area”. Finally, ASUS performed above market average, with its “ramp-up” in the desktop area enabling it to gain market share in the region and portable PCs remaining its main contributor to shipments.
The Recycler reported recently that the worldwide PC market stabilised during the second quarter, with results showing the smallest decline in shipments for two years; totalling 74.4 million units.