Commercial notebooks on the up, but EMEA PC market shrinks

Chink of light shines on the business space as wider EMEA market shipments fall more than three per cent annually

The PC market in EMEA shrank 3.3 per cent in Q3, according to IDC, which said the commercial notebook segment bucked the trend after shipments soared 5.6 per cent.

Some 17.9 million units were shipped in EMEA across the region in Q3, down 3.3 per cent from last year. Notebook shipments crept up 0.7 per cent over that period, thanks to new thinner and lighter products being snapped up by western Europe enterprises.

Commercial notebooks were the star performer in the market, with shipments up 5.6 per cent compared with a year ago - the highest growth of any category analysed in the report.

The same could not be said for the consumer space, in which notebooks fell 2.6 per cent annually in the region.

"The planned increase of panel prices for notebooks before the end of 2016 drove notebook orders up earlier for year-end business," the analyst said. "This resulted in some cases in shortages. Overall, the large shipment volumes are expected to contribute to a build-up in stock. Inventories will be monitored in the coming months."

Microsoft unveiled its Windows 10 Anniversary Edition in the summer, but IDC said it "did not seem to have a significant impact on renewals".

Other factors also affected the market, said IDC: "The back-to-school season together with the upcoming Black Friday and Christmas holidays contributed to shipment uplift and stock intakes rose, but desktops in EMEA continued to contract by 10.6 per cent," the analyst said.

"This confirmed the continuous erosion in profit for more mobile solutions. The bankruptcy of Hanjin, a South Korean shipping company, had an impact on shipments from some PC vendors. However, western Europe seems to be only marginally affected."