Computer sales surf higher on economic revival

Economic revival, technological developments and right pricing led to overall sales of the Indian personal computer (PC) market touching 1.97 million units during the October-December (fourth) quarter of calendar year 2009 — a 25.7 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) growth, according to a report by IDC, the research and advisory company.

Desktop PC sales accounted for nearly two-thirds of total PC sales at 1.27 million units, a 14.6 per cent increase over the corresponding quarter last year.

However, on a quarter-on-quarter basis, the sales fell 12.8 per cent due to the seasonality factor. Notebook PC sales grew 52.8 per cent year-on-year, clocking 690,000 units in October-December 2009.
 

BOOTING UP SALES
Computers	Y-o-Y growth (%)	Q-o-Q  growth  (%)
Desktops	14.6	-12.8
Notebooks	52.8	-5.2
Total	25.7	-10.3

Total India PC shipments grew in each of the four quarters of 2009, after dropping sharply from a peak of 2.26 million units in July-September 2008 to 1.56 million units in October-December 2008. Home PC shipments (both desktops and notebooks) climbed 38 per cent year-on-year (October-December 2009 over October-December 2008).

The IDC report reveals that the growth of 57 per cent year-on-year (October-December 2009 over October-December 2008) in notebook PC shipments to large business (500-999 employees) and very large business (1,000 or more employees) segments was “pleasantly surprising”.

In the overall PC (notebooks and desktops combined) market, HP retained the top spot, with a market share of 16.2 per cent in terms of unit shipments, while Dell and Acer had 13.6 per cent and 10.4 per cent, respectively.
 

Overall PC marketshare (%)	Desktop PC ranking	Notebook PC ranking
HP -16.20%	HP #1	Dell #1
Dell -13.60%	HCL #2	HP #2
Acer -10.40%	Acer #3	Acer #3
(Source: IDC’s India Quarterly PC Tracker 2009, 4Q CY2009)

In desktop PC shipments, HP retained top position with a market share of 11.6 per cent, followed by HCL and Acer, respectively, during the fourth quarter of last year. However, it was in the notebook PC shipments that the market witnessed a shake-up, as Dell captured the top spot for the first time, with a market share of 26.3 per cent.

“Dell’s ascent in the India notebook PC market can be attributed to their consistent marketing efforts over the previous quarters. Availability of a wide product portfolio with appealing aesthetics and branding helped Dell connect with ‘Gen X’ buyers – students as well as young executives,” said Sumanta Mukherjee, Lead PC Analyst, IDC India.

“The revival of buying by the large business and very large business segments, which have traditionally been strong segments for Dell, also shored up the vendor’s performance in the quarter ended December 31,” he added.