Packard Bell still strong in UK

A report yesterday by research group Computer Intelligence (CI) said PB lost its number one place in the US retail market this summer. It dropped from 30.1 per cent in February to 16.7 per cent in July, while Compaq climbed to 22.7 per cent, the report said. CI is owned by Ziff-Davis, publisher of PC Daily News.

But analysts said the NEC-owned PC vendor remained a force to be reckoned with in the UK retail sector. "Packard Bell is still strong in the UK," said James Bates, senior research analyst at market research specialist Context. It has a clear lead over Compaq, AST, IBM, Apricot and Hewlett-Packard. "Packard Bell is outstripping everyone else in the UK. They seem to have a very high ratio of sales to shelf space. My guess in terms of retail share is high twenties and above."

Packard Bell officials were unavailable to comment.

Packard Bell can be contacted by telephone on 01753-831914.