Europe sees Q3 rise in PC sales
Third quarter PC sales have increased at a faster rate in Europe than they have in the rest of the world.
European PC sales have grown 17 per cent in the third quarter to 30an they have in the rest of the world. September from the same period last year, mirroring the region's improved economic conditions.
According to research from Dataquest, the European market grew faster than the rest of the world as it improved on the 16 per cent growth in the previous quarter to 30 June. A total of 4,033,792 PCs were sold in Western Europe in the third quarter, up from 3,449,482 units over the same quarter in 1996.
Dataquest stated that improved sales were spurred on by a recovery within the consumer and professional sectors of the market, but also pointed out that direct manufacturers and mail-order companies, with the exception of Dell, were beginning to lose market share in Europe. The company highlighted the fact that Gateway 2000 was losing sales.
The sales of business PCs, consumer PCs and servers were all up at 17 per cent, 15 per cent and 30 per cent respectively. Corporate moves to improved email and database systems helped sustain growth in the server sectors.
The main companies to benefit from the market growth included Compaq, which increased its lead by three per cent to 16 per cent of the market share. Dell, HP and Siemens Nixdorf also made gains.
IBM did not fare so well, with its shares falling to 8.4 per cent from 9.2 per cent last quarter, just holding on to its number two position.
Troubled Apple was pushed out of the top 10 vendor table for the first time and Olivetti did not register on the scale.
Any indications of growth in Asia have been clouded by its recent financial crisis, and according to Dataquest will lead to a downturn in PC sales on that continent - so much so that Europe is now being touted as the region for growth in the industry in 1998.
According to research from Dataquest, the UK market reported PC sales of 866,986, up 17.8 per cent from last year's figure of 736,162.