Acer Inc, the largest supplier of laptop computers in Europe, is seeking to quicken the pace at which the company clears stock in Germany as demand growth slows in the region.
The company wants to lower its inventory turnover to as little as 40 days from 60 days currently, the head of the Taipei-based company's German unit, Oliver Ahrens, said in an interview on Friday. A higher number signals possible excess inventory. Sales in Europe, as a portion of Acer's total revenue, will drop to 60 percent this year from 65 percent last year, he said.
"In Europe, Middle East and Africa, we already have a 20 percent market share," Ahrens said at the CeBIT technology show in Hanover, Germany. "It's not possible to double that again. Growth is now coming from Asia and the US."
Acer unseated Japan's Toshiba Corp as the world's third-largest supplier of notebook computers by shipments in the fourth quarter, according to market researcher Gartner Inc. The Taiwanese company's global market share for the product was 12.2 percent, ahead of Toshiba's 10.5 percent, Gartner said.
Sales of all Acer products worldwide this year will jump to US$11.4 billion from US$8.3 billion last year, the company said in a presentation at CeBIT on Friday. Ahrens said the numbers exclude contributions from Acer's subsidiaries. The US portion of total sales will rise to 17 percent this year from 15 percent last year, he said.
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