According to IDC the EMEA PC market shows "positive" results in Q2 2014, as enterprise renewals fueled by the end of Windows XP support drive growth while consumer shipments improve, at least in W. Europe.
On the other hand emerging markets remain constrained by weak demand and political instability the analyst continues.
On a global basis Q2 2014 PC shipments are down by -1.7% Y-o-Y, an improvement over IDC projections of -7.1% declines. The analyst says this is the smallest decline since Q2 2012, when the drop in mini notebooks and surge in tablets disrupted the market.
Windows XP migrations appear to be going strong and enterprise desktop shipments appear to be "stronger than expected," as are consumer PC and Chromebook shipments.
IDC does not give specific numbers, but says Europe shows the strongest growth together with the US and Canada. In contrast, as mentioned earlier emerging regions are in decline due to weak economies and political issues.
"The recent strength in mature regions is a positive sign," IDC says. "However, an important part of this strength is driven by the rebound from weaker demand last year and to potentially short-term replacement activity. We can look for some recovery in emerging regions going forward, but it may coincide with slower growth in mature regions. We do not see the recent gains as a motive to raise the long-term outlook although 2014 growth could get closer to flat, rather than the May projection of -6%."
On a vendor basis Lenovo remains on top, with 15.1% Y-o-Y growth fueled by aggressive expansion and pricing strategies. HP follows with growth reaching 10.2% Y-o-Y (the highest since Q2 2010) through EMEA and last-minute pubic sector notebook shipments.
Third-placing Dell also sees growth (13.2%) in its highest quarter in over 2 years, while Acer shipments improve (-2.5% Y-o-Y decline) through diversification in mobile, cloud and low-cost PCs.
Asus takes 5th place with 3.3% Y-o-Y shipment growth via "strong" entry- and mid-level notebooks, as well as the capture of the space left by the sale of Sony's Vaio unit.
