Context: UK PC market still in the doldrums

Distributor revenue falls 9.9 per cent in fourth quarter

Davies: The signs are looking good in 2010 for Europe's PC markets

The UK PC market is not out of the woods yet, distribution data from analyst Context reveals.

The Context Distributor Panel monitors sales data from 58 major IT distributors across western Europe.

Although the region as a whole appeared to return to seasonal sales patterns in the fourth quarter, UK sales continued to tumble.

Unit sales through UK distributors rose 11.1 per cent year on year during the quarter, but revenue fell 9.9 per cent due to price erosion.

For western Europe as a whole, distributor revenue fell 4.1 per cent year on year, comparing favourably to the double-digit declines witnessed in the previous three quarters.

In December, revenue was flat on the previous year, and up six per cent on November, which Context co-founder Jeremy Davies said suggested the European PC market was on the road to recovery.

“The signs are looking good in 2010 for Europe's PC markets,” said Davies.

“This is the fourth consecutive month of sequential growth in PC sales through distribution, and as we predicted in November, seasonal sales patterns have returned.”

He added that the UK market was “still not out of the doldrums”.

The Netherlands and Norway were the only two countries to suffer larger revenue drops than the UK, with the latter a whopping 37.3 per cent down on last year.