IDC: Q1 EMEA PC Shipments "Stablised"

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EMEA Q1 2014 PC shipments are down by -1.1% Y-o-Y to 21.8 million units IDC reports-- a relative improvement over previous quarters (if still making for a 7th consecutive quarter of decline) as the market requires further recovery.

Improvement is seen mainly in the commercial segment, with desktop PC shipments growing by 1.4% Y-o-Y. On the other hand portables contract by -2.6%.

IDC EMEA PCs

"The end of Windows XP support was a major driver of the commercial rebound, and supported renewals mainly in the desktop area," the analyst says. "In the EU, as the macroeconomic outlook improved, companies started to invest in IT again after many quarters of postponing decisions. In other parts of the region political unrest and negative exchange rate evolution were inhibitors to market growth."

In fact W. European shipments see growth (8.6% Y-o-Y) thanks to strong enterprise demand brought about by the end of Windows XP support, aging installed base and improving macroeconomic outlooks. Thus commercial PC shipments are the region's winners for the quarter, even as consumer shipments return to positive results for the first time in the 2 years.

On the other the combined CEE and MEA Q1 2014 PC market sees record -12% Y-o-Y declines, with CEE shipments dropping by -17% and MEA by -8%. Multiple factors contribute to such results, including political unrest, economic uncertainty, high unemployment and unfavorable exchange rates.

"In Q1 2014 the portable PC market recorded a -20% Y-o-Y contraction in the CEE region, with Ukraine, Russia, and Kazakhstan reporting a major slowdown," IDC remarks. "The desktop PC market declined by -11% Y-o-Y, the commercial market was able to perform slightly better compared to the consumer space, but not enough to balance the overall results. Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, Hungary all reported overall positive results mostly driven by demand within the commercial space. The MEA region saw a slightly better result in the consumer space, with very mixed results for the country dynamics in the region."

HP leads the EMEA vendor rankings, with a strong Q1 in both consumer and commercial markets and favourable (16.4%) Y-o-Y comparisons. Lenovo follows with 33% Y-o-Y growth thanks to a wide product offer, channel coverage and an "attack and protect" strategy.

Dell comes in 3rd place with 11.3% market share and 9.6% Y-o-Y growth, while Acer ranks in 4th place due to losses in the portable PC market segment.

In 5th place is Asus, with growing (from 7.9% to 8.6%) market share and "strong" desktop shipments. Outside the Top 5 Apple sees boosts from a backlog of new AIO models, Fujitsu sees good results in desktop and overall commercial space, and Samsung remains in 10th place as it switches forces from mainstream portables to Chromebooks and high-end ultrabooks.

Go IDC EMEA Quarterly PC Tracker Q1 2014