PC shipments on the Russian market totaled 2.7 million units in the fourth quarter of 2013. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker, the market contracted 8.6%, year on year, thus outperforming a projected decline of 14.1%. While shipments remained weak during the early part of the quarter, the market was boosted by demand from the business sector. (TZ)
Comparatively healthy channel inventory levels allowed PC vendors to push channel uptake of new Intel Haswell-based and Microsoft Windows 8.1-based systems. Lenovo, HP, and Dell, all of which have an significant presence in the private and public sectors, each saw modest positive sequential growth during the quarter, possibly indicating stronger performance in coming quarters and reflecting more business-sector replacements closer to the end of Windows XP support. The Russian market is already beginning to reflect some of the Windows XP to Windows 7 transition in the commercial PC space.
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Lenovo’s shipments grew faster than the overall market and recorded the strongest gains in share, as the vendor pushed new product refreshes through its channels. Contrary to encouraging developments in the business space, PC shipments in the home sector continued to exhibit troubling signs, due partly to increasing pressure from lower-priced tablets. These preliminary tracker results reflect a market that is struggling to justify ultrabook prices and the transition to touch-based devices.
„Fourth quarter developments were close to the forecast, which does not reflect much improvement in the PC market or potential for growth in the short-term,“ said Natalia Vinogradova, a research analyst with IDC Russia/CIS. „Despite slightly outperforming the forecast, fourth-quarter results suggest that consumers continue to delay PC replacements, due to the constraints of a weak economy and growing interest toward tablets and smartphones. We expect to see another decline in PC shipments in 2014.“
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