HP, Lenovo Lead EMEA PC Shipments Growth in 3Q2014

According to International Data Corporation (IDC), PC shipments in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) reached 23.7 million units in the third quarter of 2014 — a 10.4% increase year on year and a clear return to growth for two consecutive quarters after a difficult 2013, with HP and Lenovo occupying first and second positions in the market, respectively.

The regional growth was mainly driven by the mature markets of Western Europe.

During the quarter consumer demand heavily contributed to an overall increase in portable PC shipments, which posted growth of 13.5%, supported by back-to-school shipments and preparations for the Christmas season as well as attractive price offerings of notebooks with Windows 8.1+ Bing.

During the same period, desktop PC shipments increased 5.2%. In Western Europe, market trends were similar to the previous quarter, with shipments increasing 22.7%.

As forecast, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) remained impacted by the unstable political and economic situation in Russia and by currency fluctuations, leading to a decline of 9%, while the Middle East and Africa (MEA) was more positive with a 2.1% increase.

The increase in total EMEA shipments confirms the rebound in the market and strong renewals on the consumer and enterprise side, but this is still not a recovery as volumes remain below those shipped in previous strong years.

"The rebound is clear and consumers' renewed interest in portable PCs is encouraging," said Chrystelle Labesque, research manager, IDC EMEA Personal Computing. "Even if the differences between Western Europe and CEMA [Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa] persist for obvious political and economic reasons, there are some common drivers, especially on the consumer side. Inventory levels appear higher overall in the supply chain but, in line with higher expectations after a good back-to-school period, retailers and etailers are more confident about the holiday season business. In Western Europe renewals in enterprise were also further supporting the market."

Preparations for the holiday season, with shipments by sea from some vendors, boosted 3Q portable numbers in Western Europe.

Attractive prices for some models led more consumers to renew their PCs and attracted students looking for new devices for the back-to-school season.

The year-on-year comparison favors for the consumer market, given last year's contraction of 22%, while 3Q13 commercial shipments were almost flat.

The impact of the end of Windows XP support faded in the SMB sector, contributing to weaker renewals, but larger enterprises continued to roll out new devices.

As forecast, commercial demand remained strong while business confidence appears very heterogeneous across Europe. Commercial PC shipment growth in Western Europe reached 12.5% as PCs remain key productivity tools in the enterprise environment.

The southern European markets that were particularly affected by the economic and financial crisis in the past few years have been recovering — Spain posted more than 40% growth, while Greece, Portugal, and Italy all increased by more than 30%.

In comparison, growth in France was limited, Germany continued to outperform the Western European average, and the U.K. is more in line with European results.

"The PC market in Western Europe has seen increased confidence in consumer demand, especially during the back-to-school season, which translated into strong consumer PC shipments in the third quarter of the year," said Maciek Gornicki, senior research analyst, IDC EMEA Personal Computing.

"It seems like end users are replacing their PCs again, weary of their outdated desktops and notebooks, and tempted by attractive offerings available in the market. Notebooks running Windows 8 with Bing fared well and contributed positively to PC shipments thanks to their attractive price points. We would expect this trend to continue into the fourth quarter, with end-of-year Christmas sales likely to result in further market growth. Commercial shipments also continued to grow, though at a slower pace, as the end of Windows XP support related renewals started to wind down."

"PC market growth in the CEE region remains inhibited due to the ongoing economic slowdown in the Eastern part of the region, reporting an overall annual PC decline of 9%," said Stefania Lorenz, associate VP, IDC CEMA.

"However, for a better understanding of the dynamics in the region, the PC market should be viewed by subregion, with very different results in Eastern [Russia, CIS] and Central [Poland, Czech and Slovakia Republics, Balkans, Baltic States] countries. For the second consecutive quarter, Central Europe reports strong double-digit growth, driven by demand in the consumer and commercial sectors. The strong growth comes from both desktops and portables, thanks to deals been fulfilled as well as the push from vendors in retail with low-cost products."

"The Eastern part of the CEE region remains constrained and for the seventh consecutive quarter the PC market reported a double-digit decline," said Nikolina Jurisic, product manager, IDC CEMA. "Public projects in the pipeline have been put on hold, while exchange rate fluctuations and uncertainty over the economic rebound are contributing to the decline in the commercial space. In addition, consumer demand also remains weak. Unexpectedly, the Middle East and Africa region reported limited growth of 2.1% year on year, and the PC market only remained afloat thanks to the large education deals in Pakistan. By excluding the PC deals in Pakistan, the region would have reported a single-digit PC market contraction due to the ongoing political instability and economic uncertainly in the region."