Asus overtakes Dell in EMEA PC rankings

Taiwanese vendor defies slowing market by posting rise in shipments in Q1

Asus has zoomed into third place in the EMEA PC rankings after being the only major vendor to record growth in a tough first quarter of 2016.

That is according to market watcher Gartner, which claims PC shipments in the region fell 10 per cent year on year in Q1 as businesses held off major deployments.

Asus leapfrogged Dell to claim a top-three position after growing shipments 3.9 per cent to 2.13 million units. The Taiwanese vendor now boasts a 10.9 per cent market share.

Market leader HP pulled further clear of the chasing pack, increasing its market share to 22.4 per cent despite a 2.5 per cent shipment decline. Closest challenger Lenovo's market share fell to 18.8 per cent on the back of a 12.6 per cent drop, with Dell and Acer suffering a 7.6 and 26.4 per cent fall in shipments, respectively.

Isabelle Durand, principal analyst at Gartner, said: "While the decline in the EMEA PC market is similar to the 9.6 per cent decline seen worldwide, there are some differences in the region.

"In EMEA we saw many distinct factors cause clear splits between the consumer and professional PC markets, but also regionally between western Europe and the rest of EMEA. Some PC vendors struggled to manage inventory and profitability in these diverse and rapidly shifting conditions."

While traditional PCs saw low demand in Q1, there was continued growth in demand for notebooks with detachable keyboards in both the consumer and business markets, Gartner said.

"Despite ongoing weakness in the EMEA PC market, consumer shipments in the UK and Germany were stable," said Durand. "Professional shipments of desktops and notebooks declined as business buyers continued to evaluate Windows 10 and delayed major deployments until the end of 2016."

Gartner says a combination of extended Christmas and New Year holidays and significant economic challenges in Russia and Ukraine negatively affected PC demand in Eastern Europe and Eurasia.

The recent drop in oil prices affected the exchange rate of the ruble to the US dollar more than other currencies, as well as having an impact on economic and political stability in the Middle East.

Durand added: "All these factors combined put heavy pressure on the demand for new PCs across EMEA. In addition, the caution of PC buyers in EMEA will likely continue into the second quarter of 2016.

"PC vendors must react quickly to varied trends among the professional and consumer segments, and fast-changing market conditions. The structure of the devices market and user purchasing behaviour has fundamentally changed the dynamics of the PC market."