U.K. PC market sees largest growth in 3 years

The consumer spending boom continues in 3Q03, says IDCAccording to final data released by IDC, the U.K. PC market has experienced its highest rate of growth since the third quarter of 2000. Expanding by 17.4% year on year, the key drivers of growth remain consumer spending and the increased preference for mobility, while seasonal back-to-school trends have added further weight to desktop and notebook shipments. The notebook form factor continues to drive the market with growth of 39.6% year on year, while desktops have grown 9% overall. "The continued decline of average selling prices has again boosted both consumer and commercial PC shipments," said Ian Gibbs, research analyst for IDC's European Personal Computing group. "With vendor revenues inevitably affected as a consequence, further price and margin erosion in the notebook space, although necessary for market expansion, will continue to be of key concern." The consumer spending boom has not yet abated in the U.K. and continued to have a considerable impact on PC shipments in 3Q. The consumer notebook market again recorded growth of over 90% year on year, with brands sold through Dixons and PC World stores enjoying particular success. Back-to-school demand and continued aggressive price declines have fueled expansion in the low end of the market, with many home PC owners choosing to either complement or replace their existing desktop PC with a notebook. Consumer desktop shipments have grown by 13.7% year on year, with further price declines helping to compensate for the shift in preference towards mobility.Commercial PC shipments have been led by notebook growth of 25.8% year on year. The majority of growth was seen from small and medium businesses, which displayed both a greater flexibility than large corporate businesses in freeing up IT budgets and a greater demand for mobility in computing. Commercial desktop shipments grew by 5.9% year on year with growth experienced in the SMB segment and also from a distinct improvement in corporate renewals. Although still not up to the growth rates of the smaller business segments, large corporate PC rollouts are picking up momentum as budgets are made available for the essential upgrading of ageing equipment. x86 server shipments have grown by 19.2% year on year.The back-to-school season has had an impact on shipments to the education segment this quarter. A number of major vendors and local education-oriented vendors such as Research Machines have enjoyed the benefits of the government-funded Laptops for Teachers scheme, while many schools, colleges, and universities have benefited from the increased emphasis on ICT in education. Vendor Performance HighlightsDell — For the first time since the HP-Compaq merger, Dell has claimed leadership of the U.K. PC market, with a 22% share. Growing by 34.6% year on year, Dell leads in both the desktop and notebook form factors. A number of corporate and public sector deals, continued expansion in the SMB market, and considerable growth in the consumer markets assisted the vendor's impressive performance in 3Q.HP — HP has dropped to second position in the overall market with a share of 18.4%. The vendor's performance in the desktop market (particularly on the commercial side, where shipments have declined by 18.2% year on year) has had a particularly negative effect. However, HP's continued shift in focus towards the mobile form factor, where growth of 76% has been experienced by the vendor, has been very positive. HP continues to lead the x86 server market.NEC CI — Recovering share from last quarter, NEC CI now holds 7.4% of the market. Through the vendor's Packard Bell brand and relationship with high-street retailer Dixons, NEC took the lead in the consumer desktop market and has also experienced considerable growth in consumer notebooks. Mobile shipments have grown by 80% year on year overall, while a decline in commercial business has resulted in desktop shipments falling by 0.7% year on year. Toshiba — Improving by one place from last quarter, Toshiba has grown by 17.8% year on year. While performing steadily in the consumer and SMB segments, the vendor has also benefited from an improvement in corporate deals. As a result of the Laptops for Teachers scheme, Toshiba has enjoyed considerable growth in the education segment, particularly in the lower end of the market.IBM — IBM has enjoyed a healthy quarter with overall PC shipment growth of 19.8% year on year. Through the vendor's Top Seller program, growth was experienced in the SMB market, while IBM also benefited from the improvement in corporate renewals. Desktop shipments grew 34.6% year on year, but the vendor suffered fierce competition in the notebook space. IBM took third position in the x86 server market.Source: IDC