Strong local sales buck global fall in PC market

By PETER GRIFFIN

The global PC industry is faltering, but strong local results for the second quarter, fuelled largely by corporate buying, have given computer manufacturers something to smile about.

New Zealand businesses and home users bought a total of 86,750 computers during April, May and June, according to analyst group IDC, up 4.5 per cent on the same period last year.

Computer giant Compaq emerged the shining star, maintaining its number one position with just over a quarter of the PC market and challenging the position of dominant player Toshiba in the market for laptops.

Compaq was followed by Hewlett Packard, IBM and Dell in the top four.

Locally, PC manufacturers collectively bucked a 2 per cent decline in global PC shipments for the period compared to the second quarter last year - the first year-on-year quarterly decline ever, according to IDC international figures.

IDC market analyst Darian Bird said commercial PC shipments drove the market during the second quarter with both small and large businesses investing in new computers.

"The New Zealand economy has been fairly stable this year and business confidence has improved," he said.

Across the Tasman, IDC reported that the PC market "had another less than impressive quarter with PC sales really struggling".

Senior analyst Logan Ringland said: "At the current rate of sales, it is hard to see the market growing at all over last year."



Long-term forecasts show that New Zealand is unlikely to remain insulated from the global PC slowdown.

IDC is still predicting overall growth for the year of about 3 per cent, down from 10.3 per cent last year.

With the sun setting on 10 years of solid growth in the PC market, manufacturers are shifting their focus to the "non-PC internet access device" market - handheld PDAs (personal digital assistants), interactive wireless devices aimed at people on the move.

And consumers are turning their attention to laptops. Toshiba lost nearly 5 per cent of its market share in portables, though it continues to lead with 30.8 per cent. Compaq took a 24 per cent slice of the market.