German PC Sales Drop 4% in Q2

Manufacturers of desktop PCs and notebooks may need to adjust to a tougher sales climate in Germany, Europe’s largest IT market, where computer sales dipped in the second quarter, according to market research released Tuesday by Gartner.

Sales were down 4.3 percent to 1.87 million units in the quarter that ended June 30, from 1.96 million in the same period a year earlier.

A moderate 8 percent increase in notebook sales was offset by a 13 percent decline in sales of desktop PCs.

While consumer sales slipped 3 percent in the second quarter, enterprise sales dropped even lower to 5 percent.

Gartner attributed the drop in sales to a couple of factors, including greater consumer interest in new flat-screen TV than computers and fewer new technical features.

The market researcher warned that manufacturers are also sitting on high inventories.

Despite 2.1 percent fewer sales, Fujitsu Siemens Computers maintained its lead position in the second quarter, selling 335,000 computers. The company, a joint venture of Germany’s Siemens and Japan’s Fujitsu, had an 18 percent market share at the end of the quarter.

Hewlett-Packard sold 220,000 computers, up 11.3 percent, followed by Dell, which increased sales 14.3 percent to 216,000. The two U.S. manufacturers have market shares of 12 percent and 11 percent, respectively.

The fourth-largest supplier in the second quarter was Acer, with sales of 150,000 computers, down 7.5 percent year over year. Its market share is 8 percent.

German vendor Medion, under growing pressure from international competitors, saw sales plummet 33.3 percent to 140,000 units. Medion, a key supplier to German food-discount giant Aldi Einkauf GmbH & Co., now has a 7 percent share of the country’s computer market.

Other suppliers accounted for the remaining 43 percent of the market.

-John Blau, IDG News Service (Dusseldorf Bureau)

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