A recent study by research company International Data Corporation (IDC) reveals that PC shipments in Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) continued to contract in the second quarter of 2013 as high levels of inventory and slow consumer demand constrained new purchasing by channel partners and enterprises remained under economic pressure.
Thus the market saw a 22.2% decrease in overall PC shipments compared to the same quarter last year. EMEA PC shipments reached 19.6 million units in the second quarter of 2013, with portable PC shipments at 12.4 million, declining by 26%, and desktops at 7.2 million, down 14.6%.
In Western Europe, PC shipments declined as expected by 21.2% year on year. Performance across most countries was in line with anticipations, impacted by consumer softness and the inventory situation at the beginning of the quarter. The U.K. continued to hold better at -14%, while Germany decelerated -18.7%, impacted by the slowdown in consumer demand, and retail caution, while France remained the softest at -20.9%. Southern Europe remained the most affected by difficult economic conditions, with Spain for instance down -43.7%, while the Nordics slowed, also impacted by the market transition. After continuous deterioration quarter over quarter, desktops seemed to have reached a softer landing phase, decreasing -13.4%, proportionally less than notebooks, which continue to be impacted year on year by the decline in mini-notebook volumes in 2Q12.
The PC market remains challenging, with continued traction on tablets and new devices while new form factors have yet to create the awaited stimulus to drive demand for renewals despite the better user experience they offer. The transition to Windows 8 and touch-enabled devices remained slow, and the high cost of those platforms continue to inhibit more robust growth.
New CPU platform launches such as Haswell and Temash/Kabini did not create any measurable impact for lighter notebooks and the price point evolution did not sustain greater adoption either. In the commercial space, investments remained very cautious and renewals occurred on only a case by case basis, directly impacting results that were overall mixed by country, segment, and vendor.
HP maintained a strong lead in EMEA despite a slightly higher contraction than market average. Lenovo continued to gain share and consolidated its second place in the overall EMEA ranking while remaining the only vendor growing within the top 10. Acer maintained third position with a performance that continues to be impacted by slow consumer demand and the disappearance of mini-notebooks, which constituted significant volumes for the vendor last year, replaced by new tablet volumes this year. Acer, however, started on a strong new product roll out especially of ultrabooks and tablets that are gradually ramping up in volume.
Top 5 Vendors: Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) PC Shipments*, 2Q13 (Preliminary) (000 Units)
| Vendor | 2Q13 Shipments | 2Q13 Market Share | 2Q12 Shipments | 2Q12 Market Share | 2Q13/2Q12 Growth |
| Hewlett-Packard | 3,723 | 19.0% | 4,847 | 19.2% | -23.2% |
| Lenovo | 2,622 | 13.4% | 2,204 | 8.7% | 19.0% |
| Acer Group | 2,260 | 11.5% | 3,912 | 15.5% | -42.2% |
| Dell | 2,092 | 10.7% | 2,300 | 9.1% | -9.0% |
| ASUS | 1,693 | 8.6% | 2,755 | 10.9% | -38.5% |
| Others | 7,214 | 36.8% | 9,176 | 36.4% | -21.4% |
| Total | 19,604 | 100% | 25,194 | 100% | -22.2%
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