Even as sales of personal computers (PCs) decline globally, the Indian PC market continues to grow. The combined desk-based and mobile PC market in India stood at about 2.9 million units in the quarter ended June, a 17 per cent rise over the year-ago period, according to research agency Gartner.
Gartner expects growth in PC shipments to continue in the quarter ending September, owing to the festive season and the Tamil Nadu government’s order for PCs. “Consumer buying accounted for 50 per cent of total PC sales in the second quarter of 2012. Consumer PC sales grew 24 per cent sequentially, which emphasises the fact that media tablets are not yet cannibalising the PC market in India, unlike in the West. Consumer growth is being primarily driven by entry-level products. Vendors such as HP, Lenovo, Asus and Samsung registered growth of more than 50 per cent in the consumer segment,” said Vishal Tripathi, principal research analyst at Gartner. Mobile PCs, which saw sales rise 54 per cent compared to the year-ago period, helped drive overall market growth. White boxes, including parallel import, which accounted for 45 per cent of the overall desktop market, declined 18 per cent in the quarter ended June, compared to the year-ago period.
Execution of a substantial part of the Tamil Nadu government’s order, very aggressive price points and increased channel activities helped Lenovo’s PC shipments grow 86 per cent. The company thus retained the top slot in the quarter. HP’s PC shipment grew 36 per cent, while Dell’s shipments declined 10 per cent compared to the year-ago period.
The top four multinational brands — Acer, Dell, HP and Lenovo — accounted for 56 per cent of the market. Local vendor HCL’s PC market share saw flat growth of 0.2 per cent, while its market share dropped to 5.6 per cent in the quarter.
“Ultrabooks are still finding it difficult to penetrate the market. However, with the availability of the new Intel processor and the declining price points, we expect adoption to increase in the coming quarters,” said Tripathi.