Computers (EMEA Market)

Market segments

TAdviser presents information on various segments of the global computer market.

2022: The PC market in EMEA has collapsed at a record due to the conflict in Ukraine

The personal computer market in the region EMEA in the second quarter of 2022 showed a record decline, which was the result of the Russian special operation in Ukraine and the subsequent Western sanctions against the Russian Federation. This is stated in a study that analysts Gartner announced on July 11, 2022.

According to experts, in April-June 2022, manufacturers shipped a total of 17.8 million desktops, laptops and hybrid devices capable of transforming into tablets to countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. This is 18% less than a year ago.

The PC market in EMEA has collapsed at a record

According to Gartner Research Director Mikako Kitagawa, PC sales in EMEA fell sharply after two years of strong growth caused by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic and the restoration of interest in PCs in general from consumers and the educational sector. The expert added that the suspension or complete termination of computer shipments to Russia by manufacturers had a negative impact on the entire computer market in EMEA, since the Russian Federation accounted for about 5-10% of PC supplies in the region.

According to a Gartner study, shipments of laptops to EMEA in the second quarter of 2022 decreased by 20%, and shipments of Chromebooks (laptops on the Chrome OS platform) sank by more than 50%. Analysts attribute such a strong decline in the laptop segment to the overall consumer demand in many EMEA countries, which are facing rising prices for many products, especially fuel and electricity. A very high inflation rate will negatively affect the purchasing power of people in the second half of 2022 and, possibly, in the first half of 2023, researchers predict.^[1]

2019: The region's place on the computer device export map

2014

Q2 EMEA Market

According to the European analytical company Context, in the 2nd quarter of 2014, PC shipments in units from the top 10 vendors in the EMEA region increased by 15.6%. The growth was preceded by long quarters of supply decline with the exception of a small, expressed in single digits, growth in the 1st quarter of 2014, analysts say.

PC deliveries to Western European countries in pieces increased by 28%. Germany, Britain and France showed the best growth, where deliveries jumped 48.5%, 23.8% and 13.7%, respectively. Based on data received from vendors, analysts call the update of the computer fleet in the corporate sector, which was preceded by a long PC life cycle, as well as the end of support for Windows XP, the main reasons for such positive dynamics .

At the same time, in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe according to the results of the quarter, on the contrary, there was a decrease in PC supplies among the dozens of largest vendors, which amounted to 8.4%. A significant "contribution" to such a result was made by Russia and Ukraine, which is associated with the worsening political situation in these countries and economic sanctions, the Context notes. In Russia, in particular, the supply of PCs in units in the 2nd quarter of 2014 decreased by 20.4%.

As for the PC monitor market, according to Context analysts, in Western Europe in the 2nd quarter they grew in units by 14% year-on-year, while in the rest of the EMEA countries there were practically no dynamics. The leader in growth in Western Europe was the United Kingdom, where the supply of monitors increased by 18%.

In Central and Eastern Europe, the computer monitor market sank by 27%, which in Context, as in the case of the PC market, is associated primarily with the unstable political situation in Russia and Ukraine. Some countries of Eastern Europe - the Czech Republic and Poland, in particular - in the 2nd quarter showed positive dynamics, expressed by double-digit indicators, noted in Context.

ViewSonic Marketing Manager Maria Solovyova notes regarding the Russian monitor market that it declined from year to year after 2011, and if at the beginning of this trend the main factor in the decline was technological (the emergence and rapid growth in the popularity of tablets and other mobile devices has obviously become a "downward" factor for the monitor market), then in the future, negative trends in the economy as a whole were superimposed on this fall. In turn, 2013 has become a very difficult year for the entire Russian IT market.

"There was some hope that" having survived "the Olympics, the market would gradually begin to recover, but then Crimea happened to us, the rapid deterioration of relations with the West, the imposition of sanctions. All this had an extremely negative impact on the general economic situation. Now any forecasts for the development of the monitor and any other market cannot be given in isolation from political forecasts, and this matter is extremely thankless, "says Solovyova

2012

Q4

EMEA Market

According to analysts' expectations, the PC market in EMEA continued to experience a depression in the fourth quarter of 2012 due to weak demand both in the mass market and in the business segment. In total, compared to the same quarter of 2011, the supply of equipment decreased by 10.7%, according to the report IDC^[2].

In total, in 2012, PC shipments in the EMEA region amounted to 105.6 million units of equipment, which corresponds to an annual decrease of 1.6%. Shipments of portable PCs separately in 2012 decreased by 0.8%, and desktops - by 2.9%.

In Western Europe, PC sales in the fourth quarter were extremely low - 12.5% less in annual comparison. The most healthy market situation remained in the Scandinavian countries and the UK, more modest results were shown by the German market, while Southern Europe continued to be influenced by a serious economic crisis.

In Central and Eastern Europe, sales were also low, and, according to IDC, not least due to difficulties in the Russian market, so in general, in the fourth quarter of 2012, supplies here decreased by 13.6%, and in the Middle East and Africa - by 0.6%.

Top 5 PC vendors in EMEA in Q4 2012 by volume, thousand units

Source: IDC, January 2013

Among PC vendors, HP retained market leadership, followed by Lenovo, Acer, Asus and Dell in the top five.

European PC Market Moves in Downward Spiral

PC deliveries in Western Europe reached 15.3 million units of equipment in the fourth quarter of 2012, which is 11.7% lower in annual comparison, according to Gartner^[3]. In 2012, deliveries in this region reached 58 million units of equipment, which corresponds to a decrease of 8.4% compared to 2011.

Meike Escherich, an analyst at Gartner, noted that the Western European computer market is currently moving in a downward spiral. "2012 was the second year in a row when the market worked in minus, but the result turned out to be less negative, since in 2011 the drop in supplies was 14%," he added.

According to the expert, the problems lie in the general weakness of the region's economy, the weak penetration of new operating systems, as well as high prices for ultrabooks, which prevented the generation of high demand for the latter.

Share of vendors in the Western European PC market, Q4 2012, thousand units

"Except for media tablets Source: Gartner, February 2013 "

Among vendors in the fourth quarter, HP (21.5% of the market) remained the leader, then the top five were closed in descending order by Acer (11.4%), Lenovo (11.4%), Asus (11.2%) and Dell (8.7%). Other vendors accounted for 35.8% of the market.

Q2

EMEA Market

The PC market in EMEA in the second quarter of 2012 showed positive dynamics: device deliveries increased by 9.1% in unit terms compared to the same period in 2011, according to IDC^[4].

The increase in supplies separately in Western Europe remained lower - it amounted to 4.1%. The impact of low consumer demand, however, as well as commercial, affected here. However, compared with a 20.2% drop in deliveries in 2011 as a whole, the dynamics are still positive.

On the contrary, supply growth in Central and Eastern Europe exceeded analysts' expectations and amounted to 25.1% in unit terms compared to the second quarter of 2011. Growth in the Middle East and Africa region was 4.8% over a comparable time period.

IDC analysts note that demand in the EMEA region still remains strongly "skewed" in favor of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, and ultrabooks (new thin laptops) have not yet been able to fundamentally reverse this situation. However, by the time Windows 8 was released in October 2012, the PC market could revive.

Interestingly, PC deliveries in the CEMA region (EMEA without Western Europe) showed a record increase in the second quarter by 15.2% in unit terms compared to the same period in 2011, their volume amounted to 12 million units of equipment. The main driver of the PC market in EMEA remains growth in Central and Eastern Europe (in 2011, it was 25.1% overall). Only 3.96 million units were delivered to Russia.

Top 5 PCs of EMEA vendors by volume of deliveries in thousand pieces

IDC, 2012

HP in the second quarter of 2012 retained its leadership position in the EMEA region with a share of 22% of the total "pie," in second place among Acer vendors with a share of 15.5%, then Asus (10.9%), Dell (9.1%), Lenovo (8.8%), another 36.4% accounted for other vendors.

Western Europe Market

PC deliveries in Western Europe in the second quarter of 2012 reached 13.6 million units, which is 2.4% lower compared to the same period in 2011^[5]. "Despite the fact that we are seeing a slight rise in the mobile market, the PC market in Western Europe as a whole has shown weak results in absolutely all countries of the region," said Meike Escherich, analyst at Gartner.

In Western Europe, mobile shipments increased by 4%, while desktop shipments decreased by 12.8% in annual terms in the second quarter of 2012. The market for "professional" PCs fell by 5.3% in terms of supply volume, while the market for user PCs increased by 0.4% in terms of the same parameter.

Despite a partial loss of market share, HP remained the number one PC vendor in Western Europe in the second quarter of 2012 with 20.2% of the total "pie." This is followed in descending order by manufacturers such as Acer (17.3%), Asus (10.7%), Dell (8.7%), Lenovo (7.8%). The rest of the vendors accounted for 35.3% of the market.

Western Europe: Shares of PC vendors in Q2 2012 by volume, thousand units

"*
Tablets do not belong to the personal computer market in Gartner terminology
Gartner, August 2012 "

Analysts continue to attribute supplier failures to economic instability in the region and link hopes of a buoyant market to the release of Windows 8 in October 2012.

Q1

EMEA Market: Gartner

In the EMEA region, in the first quarter of 2012, PC shipments reached 28.2 million units, which is 6.7% more than in the same period last year.

Ranjit Atwal, Research Director at Gartner, the reason for the faster growth of the market in the EMEA region than around the world, cites the growth in PC demand in the corporate segment - companies have begun to implement long-awaited plans to update the PC fleet and replace the OS with Windows 7. This strengthened the position of desktop PCs, whose share in deliveries was at least 40%. High demand was observed both in Western Europe and in emerging markets, which means it is still premature to talk about the sunset of the era of desktop solutions, "Atwal is sure.

Preliminary PC shipments to EMEA Q1 2012 (Gartner, April 2012)

Desktop and mobile PCs, including mini laptops and excluding media tablets

The growth in PC shipments in Central and Eastern Europe was slightly higher than expected. The main reason was the revival of demand from Russia and the CIS, the rest of the countries showed more moderate indicators. The quarter was also successful for Africa and the Middle East, where there was a revival in the consumer segment.

The five remained unchanged, but the companies included in it showed themselves in different ways. HP retained its position as the leader and increased its market share, increasing its lead over closest competitors Acer and Dell. Lenovo showed the most impressive growth in PC shipments, which significantly expanded the range of laptops and desktops. Acer continues to cut supplies - the company is the only one of the five leaders with negative dynamics.

In general, last year was not the most successful for the PC market in the EMEA region, and the shortage on hard drives did not contribute to strengthening the position of its players. The relatively stable economic situation allows companies to hope for a recovery in indicators, in particular, by meeting the demand for PCs in the corporate segment.

EMEA Market: IDC

Despite the protracted economic instability and the shortage of hard drives provoked by floods in Thailand, the PC market in the EMEA region (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa) in the first quarter of 2012 grew by 7.6% compared to the same period last year, IDC reports. There is still a shortage of hard drives, the shortage of these most important components in the production of PCs is estimated at 50 million units. Nevertheless, the influence of this factor was not as disastrous as analysts initially predicted.

The markets of European, Middle Eastern and African countries performed well in all segments - desktops and laptops of various form factors and aimed at individual and corporate users. "Although the market recovery in Western Europe is at a much more subdued pace than in developing regions (growth of 1.8%), the results in all countries were better than expected," said Eszter Morvay, IDC PC market research manager. - "The highest double-digit growth rates are seen in Denmark and Sweden, with good numbers in the UK and Germany at 8% and 6.1% respectively. Sales volumes in France remained almost unchanged, in Spain, due to the debt crisis, the decline, but very moderate - only 2.3%. "

Stefania Lorenz, IDC Director of Research in the SEMA region, notes the rapid growth in PC sales in Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East (18.3%) and Africa (13.5%). In quantitative terms, the total volume of the SEMA market of 12.08 million PCs is divided approximately equally between the above two groups of its member countries. Desktop shipments have declined, but laptops have grown by more than 30%. The market in the CEE region (Central Eastern Europe) grew by 35.7% at a one-year time interval, in the MEA region (the Middle East, and Africa) - by 24.7%. Vendors and distributors call March the most successful month in the quarter.

Preliminary volumes of PC deliveries in thousand units to the EMEA market, Q1 2012

2011

Q4 in Western Europe market

The volume of PC deliveries to the Western European market in 2011 amounted to 58.5 million units, which is 16% less than in the same period in 2010, according to the Gartner report. Deliveries of the fourth quarter of 2011 reached 16.3 million units.

Gartner analysts note a fall in the Western European PC market for four quarters in a row. "Despite aggressive pricing and special holiday offers on personal computers, other devices such as smartphones, tablets and e-books have attracted consumer attention," said Meike Escherich, chief analyst at Gartner. "Although we have seen a drop in prices, the current volume of PC deliveries to the consumer market cannot be compared with the achievements of previous years," she added.

In the fourth quarter of 2011, the personal computer markets of Italy, Greece, Portugal and Spain suffered especially badly as a result of a decrease in demand by 30% or more. The Western European mobile market was down 17.5% during the quarter, while the regional desktop market was down 12.1%. "The demand for professional PCs for migrating to Windows 7 remains low due to the difficult economic outlook," said Esherich. "In the fourth quarter of 2011, PC shipments in the professional market segment decreased by 13.5%, but the consumer segment suffered even more, falling by 18%."

Under these conditions, HP not only retained the first position in the ranking of PC suppliers to Western Europe, but also increased its gap from Acer, despite a decrease in shipment volume in the fourth quarter of 2011 by 15.7%. Acer's performance continues to decline, but on a quarterly basis, supply volumes are stabilizing. Dell has struggled with slow demand from large companies and public sector organizations, while Asus has won several major retail channel deals that have boosted the total number of devices shipped.

According to Esherich, Asus was able to successfully reorganize its portfolio of mini-laptops in accordance with trends and outstripped the market. Lenovo's growth is partly due to the acquisition of Medion, which helped the company hold the fifth position in the TOP. Lenovo was very aggressive in operating prices, which ultimately made Western Europe one of the key regions for this company. "In the last quarter of 2011, the impact of the hard drive shortage was minimal - local suppliers took the brunt, but if market conditions continue to deteriorate, we expect the hard drive shortage to be just one of many factors influencing the overall decline in the PC market in 2012," Escherich noted.

Western Europe: Q4 Shipment Volume Estimate (KU)

Note: Data includes desktop and mobile PCs. Tablets are excluded. Lenovo's metrics include Medion shipments.
Source: Gartner (February 2012) 

Great Britain

PC shipments to the UK market in the fourth quarter of 2011 amounted to 2.9 million units, a decrease of 19.6% compared to the same period in 2010. Five quarters in a row decreased the supply of computers to the UK, and the decline in the fourth quarter is the worst of these five. In general, in 2011, the UK market decreased by 15.9%, which in absolute terms means 2 million units compared to 2010. Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner, believes that the British market has proven to be the best illustration of the upcoming weak demand for PCs in Western Europe.

In the fourth quarter of 2011, the UK PC market was affected by economic shocks, the growing popularity of smartphones, tablets and e-books. As a result, the consumer market has contracted with a continuing decline of more than 20% year-on-year.

The professional market was also weak as austerity measures taken hit the education segment. The volume of deliveries of mini-laptops in the fourth quarter of 2011 decreased by more than 50%, which indicates the final stage of the departure of PC suppliers from these devices (in the third quarter of 2009 they occupied more than 30% of the total UK mobile market).

Four of the five largest suppliers worked poorly, Gartner analysts conclude. Only Apple managed to achieve growth, which kept the company in fourth position. "PC suppliers will have to compete to regain consumer interest. The appearance of ultrabooks on the market is extremely necessary at the end of 2011, "said Atwal.

France

In the fourth quarter of 2011, PC shipments in France amounted to 2.8 million units, reflecting a decrease of 11.8% compared to the same period in 2010. In general, in 2011, the volume of PC deliveries was expressed as 10.4 million units, that is, the decrease was 12% compared to 2010.

Isabelle Durand, chief analyst at Gartner, noted the remaining weak PC market in France, falling channel sales and a difficult economic environment, which caused a decrease in consumer spending. As a result, the personal computer market in France is recording a decrease in supply for the sixth quarter in a row.

The consumer market in this region contracted by 11% in the fourth quarter of 2011, as the demand for mini-laptops was lower than in the same period in 2010. In the fourth quarter of 2011, the professional PC market declined by 13% despite a number of contracts signed in the public sector.

The mobile market in the fourth quarter of 2011 accounted for 68% of total PC shipments in France, while shipments declined by 9.5%. Desktop shipments decreased by 16.5%. Shipments of mini-laptops decreased by 36.6%.

In the top five manufacturers, only Asus and Apple recorded growth in the fourth quarter of 2011. HP managed to regain its first market position in this region. Asus achieved high growth and established itself in the second line of the list. Acer lost market share, and the decrease in demand for mini-laptops forced the vendor to drop to third line.

In the first half of 2012, there will be pressure on the PC market in France, Durand said and added, despite the lack of hard drives that affected prices in the fourth quarter of 2011, Gartner analysts expect a significant increase in the average selling price in the first quarter of 2012.

Germany

The volume of PC deliveries to Germany in the fourth quarter of 2011 amounted to 3.6 million units, a decrease of 8.2% compared to the same period in 2010. This was the sixth consecutive quarterly decline in the German PC market. Overall, PC shipments decreased by 11% in 2011 compared to 2010.

The German market continues to suffer from low mobile sales. Mobile shipments dropped 9.2% in the fourth quarter of 2011. And that downgrade was steeper than the 6% decline in the desktop market.

After three difficult quarters, Acer held the first line of the list in the fourth quarter of 2011. Lenovo nearly doubled shipments through its acquisition of Medion. This helped it get ahead of HP.

HP had to counter its competitors' aggressive pricing policies and deal with weak demand in the consumer PC market during the winter break, but it held the lead in the desktop PC market sector. Asus continued to expand its line of laptops, replacing mini-laptops with in-demand mobile PCs, but it was a competition with its own, very powerful 2010 deliveries. Dell has secured several large corporate and government deals. It was the only company in the top five vendors that increased the volume of supplies due to the sale of the spectrum of less powerful products of its line to the consumer business.

Escherich stressed, despite the decline in supplies for the sixth quarter in a row, Germany continues to outperform most other Western European markets. "Two consecutive examples of quarterly growth could mean that Germany's personal computer market is stabilizing," the analyst said.

Q3 in Western Europe market

PC shipments in Western Europe reached 14.8 million units in the third quarter of 2011, down 11.4% from the same period last year, the report said. Gartner

Meike Escherich, an analyst at Gartner, says the third quarter has become very unpleasant for manufacturers and suppliers, since it was always during these three months of the year that PC sales peaked. And a flop in the third quarter is a worrying sign.

At the same time, the growing popularity of portable devices this time did not cause a systemic crisis in the market. As mobile computer sales suffered the most - by 12.6%, and netbook sales fell by 40%. And dextope sales - by 8.7% in the quarter.

Moreover, if corporate sales were kept at an acceptable level, then the decline in the mass market was very serious and practically uncontrolled - by 18.8% in annual terms. In the corporate sector, sales declined 2.1%.

HP retained the position of vendor number one in the Western European market despite all the troubles. Its share was 22.7%, however, having decreased by 7.5% over the year. Acer took second place, it has 15.2% of the market, which is 45.1% less than a year earlier.

ASUS By supplying laptops to the mass market and to the medium and small business segment, Dell was replaced from third place and took a share of 10.6%. Dell In fourth place - 9.8%. Closes Apple the top five, which added almost 20% to its share as ASUS and received a total of 7.6% of the market.

Great Britain

PC deliveries in the UK in the third quarter of 2011 amounted to 2.9 million units, which is 11% less than the comparable period last year. The main negative impact on the market was the decrease in supplies in the consumer segment by 18%.

France The French PC market feels somewhat more comfortable than the Western European market as a whole. Here, PC deliveries in the third quarter of 2011 reached 2.6 million units, which is 2.1% of the same period in 2010. The consumer segment sank in annual terms by 9.2%. The corporate segment, by contrast, grew by 10%.

Germany

PC deliveries in Germany in the third quarter of 2011 decreased by 7.9% compared to the comparable period of 2010 by 7.9% to 3 million units of equipment. This is the fourth unsuccessful quarter.

Notes