The EMEA traditional PC market (desktops, notebooks and workstations) posts the strongest growth since 2014 in Q2 2018, IDC reports, with shipments reaching 16.6 million units, a 4.1% Y-o-Y increase.
The growth essentially comes from commercial space, with shipments growing by 8.6% Y-o-Y through the rollout of anticipated device renewals. On the hand consumer space remains in decline (-0.8% Y-o-Y), even if said decline is softer than usual thanks to a combination of back-to-school sales and ongoing gaming PC demand.
Solid commercial performance drives notebook shipments to return to growth (4.7% Y-o-Y) following a "flattish" Q1 2018. Desktops also see EMEA growth in Q2 2018 (2% Y-o-Y), the result of commercial performance and tail-end deal fulfillments.
W. Europe sees traditional PC shipments grow by 2.9% Y-o-Y, with notebooks increasing by 4.2% Y-o-Y as mobility adoption drives commercial demand. Thin/light and convertible devices remain the most popular on the consumer side, even as desktop perform well enough to come in flat for a 2nd consecutive quarter. Commercial PC shipments are up by 9.2% Y-o-Y in W. Europe, with both product categories registering growth across the region. N. Europe is the strongest in terms of subregions, with Benelux, the Nordics, and the UK and Ireland recording double-digit growth following larger refresh cycles.
Meanwhile the W. European consumer PC market is down by -5.6% Y-o-Y as market saturation continues to take its toll. Growing gaming demand does offer a "pocket of growth," as do strong back-to-school sales. Benelux is the only subregion to attain stability, with the rest posting single-digit declines.
PC growth in CEMA is at a record 6.1% Y-o-Y, in line with IDC forecasts, while CEE over-exceeds expectations with 6.4% Y-o-Y growth. Some countries record double-digit growth, including Russia, the Czech Republic and Hungary, with an increase in both consumer and commercial sectors. On the other hand, Poland, the Baltics and Ukraine post double-digit declines due to a lack fo large-scale projects and inventory buildup in consumer space.
MEA performs below expectations with 5.7% Y-o-Y growth. Driving the market is the commercial sector, with large education deals bringing about 10.8% Y-o-Y growth.
In vendor terms, HP continues to lead the EMEA market with 28.3% share and 1.8% Y-o-Y growth, the result of strong results in notebooks, followed by desktops. Lenovo (plus Fujitsu) comes 2nd, with 22.2% market share and almost flat Y-o-Y growth. The company sees solid commercial performance, in both desktops and notebooks.
Dell remains 3rd with 1.3% Y-o-Y growth and 13.5% share thanks to strong commercial results and "solid" consumer performance. Acer comes 4th as it posts growth (2.7%) after 3 consecutive quarters of decline, and Asus closes the top 5 with 7.5% share and a -2.3% Y-o-Y decline, with weak results in W. Euroep and MEA. However the company does see positive results in notebooks in CEE.
Go EMEA Records its Strongest Growth Since 2014 as Market Shows Signs of Resurgence, Says IDC
