Gartner and IDC agree on two things regarding the Q2 2013 PC market-- Lenovo is the top WW PC vendor (beating HP) and, as we all know by now, shipments remain on the decline both globally and within EMEA.
According to Gartner EMEA PC shipments drop by -16.8% Y-o-Y during Q2, the 5th consecutive quarter of decline. The analyst attributes the decline to a combination of usage trends shifting from notebooks to tablets and channel inventory reductions in anticipation to future Haswell-based products.
W. European shipment levels are described as "weak," with low PC replacement rates, E. European customers go for Android-based tablets and MEA finds tablets and smartphones the more attractive options.
HP is the top Q2 2013 EMEA vendor according to Gartner, thanks to better results within professional PC space. Following are Lenovo (the only vendor seeing shipment growth), Acer, Dell and Asus.
Regarding EMEA IDC says the marker maintains "negative trends as expected" as unfavourable economic conditions and lack of major renewals drive weakness in consumer demand and softness in the commercial market. High inventory also persists in some countries and retailers remain cautious ahead of an uncertain back-to-school period-- leading to the non-occurrence of the traditionally stronger June replenishment.
On a global level Gartner says WW Q2 2013 PC shipments total 76 million units with a -10.9% Y-o-Y decline, marking the longest period of decline (5 consecutive quarters) in global PC market history.
The IDC numbers are similar-- -11.4% Y-o-Y decline in shipments reaching 75.6m units, with worse than expected performance across EMEA and Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan).
“We are seeing the PC market reduction directly tied to the shrinking installed base of PCs, as inexpensive tablets displace the low-end machines used primarily for consumption in mature and developed markets,” Gartner remarks. “In emerging markets, inexpensive tablets have become the first computing device for many people, who at best are deferring the purchase of a PC. This is also accounting for the collapse of the mini notebook market.”
Meanwhile IDC suggests "a lot still needs to be done in launching attractive products and addressing competition from devices like tablets."