Sales of PCs fell 10 percent in the Asia-Pacific region last year due to sluggish economic growth and tough competition from mobile devices, an industry analyst said yesterday.
International Data Corporation (IDC) said sales of PCs fell to 108 million units in the Asia-Pacific region outside Japan, marking the region’s first annual double-digit decline.
“The economic sluggishness in big emerging markets in the region adversely affected buying sentiments,” IDC said. “On the consumer side, smartphone and tablet distractions spread throughout the region this year, further contributing to the sharp decline in the PC market.”
CHALLENGING YEAR
IDC analyst Handoko Andi added: “2014 is expected to remain another challenging year for the PC market as competition will only grow among the devices.”
Chinese PC maker Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) retained its top spot last year with a market share of 24.9 percent, although sales fell 9.5 percent year-on-year due to a slump in its home market, IDC said.
US company Hewlett-Packard Co was in second place with a market share of 10.5 percent, up from 8.9 percent as sales rose due largely to an education project in India.
Dell Inc was in third spot with a 9.4 percent market share, as sales dipped 2.8 percent on a weaker Chinese market.
TAIWANESE STRUGGLE
It was trailed by Taiwan’s Acer Inc (宏碁) and Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) with a market shares of 8.1 percent and 6.9 percent respectively, IDC said.
The decline in sales was sharpest for the Taiwanese PC makers.
Acer sales fell by 28.6 percent as the company continued “to struggle with its product strategy,” IDC said.
Asustek sales were down by 13.4 percent.
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