Indirect route takes vendors into growth

IDC research shows modest growth in EMEA region

PC vendors with strong indirect channels have exceeded PC shipment expectations in EMEA as the region recorded modest market growth in the third quarter of 2002, according to research from IDC.

A combination of notebook demand in the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector, good pricing and successful channel initiatives enabled 100 per cent channel player Acer to record a 19 per cent increase in unit sales in the region.

Tony Kingston, marketing manager at Acer Gold Partner Deverill, said: "We are seeing a lot of notebook demand at the smaller end of the market and the perception is that the big vendors are too expensive, but Acer gives us a lower-priced option."

Sales in the EMEA PC market grew 3.3 per cent in total for Q3 2002, compared with the same period last year. Total sales reached 8.7 million units, compared with 8.4 million last year. Despite continued corporate caution, sustained SME demand limited a drop in volume.

Andy Brown, analyst at IDC, said: "Corporate demand has grown but it's a trickle not a flood. But SMEs have shown consistent demand which has bolstered sales.

"There is a new impetus in the mobile sector for SMEs, and notebook prices have come down to a point where these companies can afford them as well as desktops."

Brown was positive about next year's outlook. "The corporate sector is picking up slowly and we expect a big renewals cycle next year," he said.

But Mark Byatt, marketing director at corporate reseller Morse, warned the channel to be wary. "Our view is to treat any research with extreme caution because forecasting for the next three months is difficult enough, let alone 12 months," he said.