PC sales post 7% -ve growth for first time: MAIT

Personal computer (PC) sales in the country recorded a 7 per cent negative growth for the first time due to the economic slowdown during the last fiscal 2008-09.

The total PC sale during the last fiscal (2008-09) was 67.9 lakh units, which indicates a decline of 7 per cent over the previous year (2007-08), Manufacturers' Association for Information Technology (MAIT) today said.

But with the business sentiment gradually gaining momentum PC consumption in the current fiscal 2009-10 is expected to cross 73 lakh units registering a 7 per cent growth, it added.

"IT consumption in 2008-09 was severely impacted, especially in the second half of the fiscal, by the slowdown. Notebook sales declined by 17 per cent compared to a 114 per cent growth in the previous year and sales of desktops also declined by 4 per cent," MAIT Executive Director Vinnie Mehta told reporters here.

During the year 2008-09, multinational brands accounted for 51 per cent of the total desktop market registering an 8 per cent growth over the previous year. Meanwhile, the market share of the Indian brands fell to 18 per cent from 22 per cent.

Assembled and unbranded systems also witnessed a de-growth in their market share to 31 per cent from 33 per cent in the previous fiscal.