MEA PC Market Posts 9.6% YoY Decline in Q1
June 16, 2015 | IDCEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
The Middle East and Africa (MEA) PC market suffered a year-on-year decline of 9.6% in Q1 2015, with shipments to the region totaling 4.3 million units. That's according to the latest market insights announced today by International Data Corporation (IDC), which attributed the market's poor performance to currency fluctuations in a number of the region's key markets, as well as to the ongoing instability in global oil prices. The firm's research further showed that portable PC shipments declined 9.4% to 2.7 million units, while desktop shipments fell 10.0% to 1.6 million units.
"Currency fluctuations were one of the main causes of the market's decline slowdown, with key markets such as Nigeria, Turkey, Egypt, and Algeria all being hit," says Fouad Charakla, research manager for personal computing, systems, and infrastructure solutions at IDC. "Low oil prices have also had a negative impact on almost all parts of the region, with the extent varying from country to country. Inventory pile-ups from the previous quarter also caused the Turkey market to decline faster year on year, while ongoing political and social unrest in the 'Rest of Middle East' sub-region* compounded the decline for MEA as a whole."
Once again, the top three vendor positions in the region remained unchanged, with each of the top three vendors experiencing annual growth despite the market's significant overall decline. HP continued to lead in terms of market share, growing 6.5% year on year, while Lenovo maintained second position with growth of 5.3%. Third-placed Dell's shipments were up 3.5% over the same period, while fourth-placed Toshiba suffered a considerable downturn of 34.3%. Rounding out the top five, Asus posted a year-on-year decline of 7.2%. It should be noted that the segment of market players to suffer the most were local desktop assemblers, as they faced stiff competition from multinational PC brands and, more importantly, the refurbished PC market in many parts of the region.
For 2015 as a whole, IDC expects the MEA PC market to decline 4.8% year on year to total 17.3 million units. "Aside from currency fluctuations, one of the most significant market inhibitors will be the high PC inventory levels held by the region's channels," says Charakla. "While this inhibitor was primarily only felt in Turkey during Q1 2015, the impact is now expected to extend to many other parts of the region, including the UAE and the 'Rest of Middle East' sub-region. Additionally, the devaluation of some major international currencies, such as the euro and ruble, will continue to negatively impact PC demand in MEA through reduced international trade and tourism from the affected regions."
In the longer run, IDC expects the MEA PC market to remain almost flat between 2015 and 2019. However, there will be a gradual shift in the weight of demand from consumers to the commercial segment as a growing proportion of home users switch from PCs to tablets and smartphones and commercial end users maintain their loyalty towards PCs.
About the Research
The core of IDC's Europe, Middle East and Africa Quarterly PC Tracker® service is a comprehensive electronic database detailing changes and trends in the highly competitive PC market, covering vendors, brands, customer segments, distribution channels, pricing, processors, and PC product categories. Quarterly updates provide the latest information on the rapidly changing market for time-critical decision making.
Suggested Items
IDC Forecasts Slower Growth for Global Telecommunications Services Market: Could AI Help Telcos to Maintain Healthy Margins?
05/08/2024 | IDCWorldwide spending on Telecom Services and Pay TV Services reached $1,509 billion in 2023, an increase of 2.1% over 2022, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Semiannual Telecom Services Tracker.
Simbe Partners with Plexus to Scale Manufacturing and Meet Global Retail Demand
05/08/2024 | Globe NewswireSimbe, the leading provider of Store Intelligence™ solutions that increase retailer performance through unprecedented visibility and insights, today announced a partnership with Plexus Corp. to bring its best-in-class retail robotics-as-a-service to market quickly and at global scale.
IDTechEx Discusses Low-Loss Materials: The Enabler of Future Connected Vehicles?
05/06/2024 | IDTechExFuture connected vehicles will offer future drivers a safer, smoother, and more convenient driving experience. Not only will drivers get access to more navigation and entertainment options, but they will also gain access to safety technologies that will potentially reduce accidents, improve congestion, and reduce emissions globally by allowing vehicle safety systems to communicate with each other and with city traffic infrastructure.
HBM Prices to Increase by 5–10% in 2025, Accounting for Over 30% of Total DRAM Value
05/06/2024 | TrendForceAvril Wu, TrendForce Senior Research Vice President, reports that the HBM market is poised for robust growth, driven by significant pricing premiums and increased capacity needs for AI chips.
Tablet Shipments Show Signs of Recovery in Q1 2024
05/06/2024 | IDCAfter more than two years of decline, worldwide tablet shipments posted modest year-over-year growth of 0.5% in the first quarter of 2024 (1Q24), totaling 30.8 million units, according to preliminary data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker.