UK misses out on second record week of sales for European distributors

European channel continues strong start to 2021 with notebooks and tablets riding high. Only the UK disappoints

The UK was the only major European economy to miss out on a second record week of revenues for European distributors.

European disties recorded a second week of record sales in a row at €1.8bn (£1.6bn) for week three of January, according to Context.

The market analysis firm says that channel sales growth will grow between six and 12 per cent in Europe this quarter.

The UK however was the only major economy in Europe to buck the trend, according to data from Canalys which compares each country's current performance against a four-week average in 2019.

While Poland (42 per cent), Italy (37 per cent), Spain (31 per cent), Germany (20 per cent) and France (10 per cent) all enjoted double-digit revenue growth in the third week of January, the UK channel disappointed with figures coming below the 2019 average.

Context beleives that the UK's scheme to provide free laptops for schools late last year has driven down APP considerably.

Context suggests that this is down to the UK government's decision to deal with suppliers to provide free laptops to schools late in 2020.

"Europe's distributors continue to get the year off to a flying start, with the kind of revenue figures we'd expect in weeks seven or eight rather than at this point in Q1," Context global MD Adam Simon said.

"Home working categories like notebooks and tablets are driving unprecedented growth this early in a new year, but we're also seeing the impact of supply shortages pushing average purchase prices up in some categories."

Mobile computing and computing accessories market enjoyed the steepest increase, with both recording 44 per cent revenue growth versus average figures for 2019.

"Mobile computing and computing accessories appear to be benefitting from continued lockdowns in much of Europe, which is driving demand from home workers and students," Context's report read.

Software logged growth of 35 per cent, while AV systems, warranties and telecoms al exhibited double-digit growth at 35, 21 and 16 per cent respectively.