German PC market grew 12.6% in Q3 2004

Growth in the German PC market remained solid in Q3 2004, according to IDC, at 12.6% YTY, although slower than anticipated. The market continued to benefit from the gradual rebound in commercial investment and from buoyant demand in the notebook market. Assisted by the uptake in corporate renewals that started to take place earlier this year, the commercial desktop market maintained positive trends at 9.4%. Spending attitudes remain cautious, but the need for renewal of an ageing installed base continues to prompt many companies to initiate refresh cycles. The need for upgrades in the SMB market also contributed to the healthy desktop volumes. On the consumer side, the market displayed a soft 3.1% growth YTY.

The notebook market remained strong at over 21% growth YTY and continued to be a major vendor battlefield. Consumer notebook sales displayed another strong quarter at over 27% YTY, continuing to be driven by very attractive price points and compelling product offerings, with intense competition between A-brands and local players in the retail channel. On the SMB side, competition also remained fierce on the reseller channel among Acer, Fujitsu Siemens, HP, and Toshiba. Incremental volumes coming from the corporate market also contributed to overall market growth. In line with the uptake of commercial spending and continuing to benefit from corporate refreshes and sustained SMB demand, x86 server sales also performed well, displaying another solid quarter at 23.6%.