UK channel poised for PC price hike

HP, Sony VAIO and Fujitsu among those to confirm weakening pound and rising component costs will lead to channel price rises

Neath: In the next 4-8 weeks you will see price increases as stock comes into the channel

A-brand PC vendors are set to raise their channel pricing within weeks in the wake of the weakening pound and a spike in component costs.

Fujitsu has confirmed it will increase its prices within four to eight weeks, with HP and Sony VAIO among the other big names to reveal they are considering similar moves in calendar Q2.

Sterling yesterday plunged to a nine-month low of 1.48 against the dollar. With most components denominated in dollars, this has led to a spike in the EMEA cost bases of the major PC manufacturers.

Memory prices have also risen dramatically in recent months and every vendor CRN tracked down admitted the two factors combined mean price rises are all but inevitable. Some sources believe entry-level notebooks may rise by up to £40 in Q2.

Darren Neath, channel director at Fujitsu, said: “The market will see price increases because of the changes in Forex and component prices. This is something we are going through right now and in the next four to eight weeks you will see price increases as stock comes into the channel.”

Anthony Brown, head of Network Communications at Sony UK, said: “A predicted increase in the price of memory chips, along with currency fluctuations, may necessitate a rise in the trade pricing of the VAIO range towards the end of the first quarter of our new financial year [beginning April].

"Should this happen, we will communicate details to our channel partners in due course.”

Kevin Matthews, HP channel manager for Enterprise Storage, Servers and Networking, claimed he was unable to offer any specific pricing information. But he claimed the vendor would work to offset any changes resulting from the weakening pound.

“In line with a lot of other vendors, currency will have an impact," he said. "There are other things we will do to try and manage and minimise any impact. We will make sure our discount strategy reflects currency (fluctuations)."