EMEA PC market declined in the fourth quarter of 2018, IDC report
The Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) traditional PC market (desktops, notebooks, and workstations) came in negative in the fourth quarter of 2018, with the market declining (-5.8% YoY) and totaling 19.6 million units, according to International Data Corporation (IDC).
The commercial space posted a slight decline of -1.1% YoY, supported by ongoing device renewals and the increasing adoption of Windows 10, while the decline in both desktops and notebooks (-10.6% YoY).
The Western European traditional PC market registered an overall decline of 4.7% YoY, with a slight commercial growth (1.3% YoY) that was insufficient to offset the impact of the heavy consumer decline (-11.5% YoY).
The commercial segment improved from the previous quarter driven by a stable notebook performance. Mobility adoption continues to gain traction within enterprises, resulting in the ongoing growth of notebooks, especially those with ultramobile form factors.
On the consumer side, both product categories experienced comparably weak performances this quarter, with the DACH region, France, and UKI all posting double-digit declines.
"The impact of the CPU shortage is to limit their ability to meet seasonal demand," said Liam Hall, senior research analyst, IDC Western Europe Personal Computing.
"Furthermore, holiday shipments were also inhibited by the disruptive macroeconomic and political scenarios unfolding in multiple economies, such as Brexit and the Yellow Vest movement, resulting in greatly diminished consumer growth prospects for Western Europe," he added.
Nevertheless, ultramobile, convertible and gaming devices have shown strong signs of resilience. This quarter, as well as their attractiveness and tailored use cases, enabled sufficient consumer interest to drive growth.
The Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region in 2018Q4 recorded 1.0% YoY growth. Both the consumer and commercial segments are closing thanks to several deals and increased orders from retailers to prevent shortages or products in the holiday season.
Notebooks recorded 2.1% YoY growth, whereas desktop shipments remained negative. Russia has been undoubtedly the booster of regional growth, despite swings in local currency.
"The Intel CPU shortage also impacts the market in the quarter, but lesser than forecast," said Nikolina Jurisic, product manager, IDC CEMA. "Reported growth in the commercial sector in sectors such as Romania, which helped the market to perform better than expected."
The Middle East and Africa (MEA) region reported the second consecutive quarter of strong decline. Total shipments contracted by 18.2% YoY, "said Stefania Lorenz, Associate VP CEMA." The PC market has been kept out of the market thanks to a large number of tender deliveries in the commercial segment. Saudi Arabia reported a very strong performance with wins in the consumer and commercial sectors. On the other hand, the Turkish PC market sank 60% YoY. "
Vendor Highlights
Traditional PC market consolidation persisted, and the top 3 vendors share continued to grow in 2018Q4. The top 3 players accounted for 65.6% or total market volume, compared with 63.4% in 2017Q4.
HP Inc experienced weak results from notebooks, which coupled with weaker desktop performance drove the overall shipments decline of 6.8% YoY.
Lenovo (including Fujitsu) increased its market share in the quarter due to stronger demand for desktops and notebooks.
Dell Inc excelled once again in the commercial segment where desktops grew double digit while notebooks increased single digit on a YoY basis.
Acer experienced solid performance in big markets such as Russia, France, and the UK, which contributed to the company's flat to slightly growing market share.
Apple managed shipment growth with the launch of MacBook Air and Mac mini, despite continued erosion in the EMEA market.