ASUS becomes third major PC vendor to confirm UK price hike

Taiwanese vendor confirms suggested retail prices could rise by about nine per cent in Q4

Three of the top four PC vendors have now confirmed they are raising their UK prices in the wake of Brexit, with ASUS the latest to declare its hand.

ASUS, the third-largest PC maker in EMEA and fourth- largest worldwide, according to Gartner, confirmed in a statement that it expects suggested retail prices (SRPs) here to jump by around nine per cent in October.

"Since Q4 2015, the pound weakened throughout the first half of 2016 by around seven per cent," the Taiwanese vendor stated. "Working with our partners we have managed to absorb this fluctuation in order to avoid any impact on our UK pricing, thus ensuring consumers continue to enjoy quality goods at competitive prices.

"However, since the result of the EU referendum the value of the pound has dropped even further and is now 15 per cent lower than a year ago. Unfortunately, we are unable to continue to sustain the losses caused by a weaker pound any further, and therefore have no choice but to increase the cost of goods to our partners in line with the value of the pound."

This will affect the majority of goods shipping from its factory for delivery in Q4 2016, ASUS explained.

"We anticipate this affecting end customers with an increase on the SRP of around nine per cent on our devices from October onwards," it added. "However, the exact percentage increase will vary by product and retailer, and the exact date of any impact will vary by retailer too. For further information please contact your local retailer."

As exclusively revealed by CRN, HP earlier this month told UK partners it will hoist its prices by 10 per cent on 1 August. This followed Dell announcing an eight to nine per cent hike in its UK prices a week earlier, as also exclusively revealed by CRN.