Asian PC makers turn to U.S. consumers for growth
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Asian computer makers including  Lenovo Group Ltd (0992.HK) and Asustek Computer are finding  growth prospects in an unlikely place: the United States, a  mature, slowing market compared to other regions.
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Worldwide PC shipments rose 9.7pc in the third quarter, according to research group Gartner, slightly less than previous expectations due to slower sales in the US.
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Falling cost of PC parts gives computer maker's third quarter a boost.
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(InfoWorld) - Dell is seeing strong demand for its products in several Asian markets and is pleased with customer acceptance of Microsoft'sÂ new Windows Vista operating system, according to one of the computer manufacturer's senior executives in the region. While Dell's business in China and South Korea is growing at more than 30 percent year-over-year, it growth in India is even greater at 60 percent, said Jim Merritt, vice president of North Asia operations at Dell and president of the company's Japan unit. The growth hasn't been typical worldwide, however, where Dell has beenÂ battling a slowdown. The company's plan to revive its business depends partly on reaching more customers in emerging markets, particularly those mentioned by Merritt. The plan also looks toÂ focus on SMBs, enterprise services, and storage, and to shorten the amount of time it takes to design new products. In Japan, growth is more modest but still good at between 10 percent and 12 percent, according to Merritt. Dell Japan will be focusing on enterprise customers, services, software, and peripherals as it looks to grow market share in the traditionally tough market where Japanese hardware and software vendors dominate, he said. On the consumer side of the business, customer reaction to Windows Vista as been "good overall," said Walt Mayo, corporate director of Dell Japan's home and business sales division. "In Japan, the last quarter was very soft," he said. "Dell did quite well and we think [the softness] was due to consumers waiting for Vista." Last week, Dell reported profits of $673 million for its fourth quarter, which runs from December to February. The numbers, which are provisional, are sharply lower than the $1 billion it made in the same period a year earlier. Revenue was also lower. It fell to $14.9 billion from $15.2 billion in the same period a year earlier. The company has reported only provisional earnings for the last three quarters due to an ongoing investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York into its accounting practices, it said. In January,Â Kevin Rollins resignedÂ as Dell's CEO and Michael Dell came back to the position. Merritt said he thinks Dell's return to the company that bears his name will help "reinvigorate Dell and bring a fresh approach." Â
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US industry is increasingly turning to countries like Mexico and China for its manufacturing, and to India for high-end services like computer programming.
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The number of personal computers worldwide is expected to double to about 1.3 billion by 2010, driven by explosive growth in emerging markets such as China, Russia and India, according to a report released on Tuesday by Forrester Research Inc.
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MacCentral - The PC industry is doing a better job of satisfying its U.S. customers than in recent years, and improvements to technical support seem to have done the trick, according to the results of a study released Tuesday by the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
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The global PC market continued to grow in the third quarter, according to reports from analyst firms International Data Corp. and Gartner Inc.
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Taiwanese PC maker purchases struggling American firm in an effort to increase its U.S. market share.
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Although virtually unknown in the United States, Lenovo--said to be in talks to buy IBM&#39;s personal computer business--is China&#39;s largest PC maker and the world&#39;s fastest-growing one.
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(InfoWorld) - Dell Inc. is working on plans to sell PCs through retail stores in Asia and Australia, as part of a wider shift within the company away from using only direct sales. Dell will add retail channels for PC sales in India, China, Australia and Japan, said T.R. Reid, a company spokesman. Dell will continue selling PCs directly to customers in these countries, which are the company's most important markets in the Asia-Pacific region. Reid did not say when retail PC sales would start in Asia, but indicated the company is talking to retail partners in the region. "There's really strong interest on the part of potential partners," he said. The addition of retail sales representsÂ a major strategy shift for Dell. The company pioneered the direct sales model during the 1990s, eschewing traditional PC sales channels for the Internet and telephone hotlines to become the world's biggest PC vendor. Until recently, Dell executives repeatedly dismissed the idea that retail sales would help reach customers in countries like China, saying direct sales would suffice. Dell's long-standing aversion to retail sales ended this year with the return of Michael Dell as company CEO in January. In the face of a U.S. Securities and Exchange investigation into the company's finances and sliding sales that toppled the company from its number-one spot, Dell has looked to reverse the company's fortunes. Part of his strategy includes embracing the retail channel, which has proved instrumental in the recent strong performance of rivals such as Acer Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co. On June 10,Â the first Dell PCs went on sale with Wal-Mart StoresÂ in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. The company is now selling two desktop PC models through Wal-Mart, both of which are priced under US$700, based on plans announced last month. Â ADVERTISEMENTIBM Information On Demand 2006Industrial Industry Leaders, please join us at IBM's premier information management global event, IBM Information On Demand 2006, October 15-20, Anaheim, CA. More IBM business and technical solutions content in one place than ever before! Select from  over 800 sessions. Register today!
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The PC maker is gearing up for the fall with new printers, TVs and a spiced-up desktop.
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The PC industry is doing a better job of satisfying its U.S. customers than in recent years, and improvements to technical support seem to have done the trick, according to the results of a study released Tuesday by the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
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PCs running Windows Vista got a cool response from consumers in Japan during February, according to sales data.
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(InfoWorld) - Even as PC sales continue double-digit growth, industry revenue is likely to decline 2.5 percent to US$198.5 billion in 2006, according to a forecast released Friday by Gartner Inc. Worldwide PC shipments are scheduled to rise 10.5 percent over last year, reaching 233.7 million units. The disparity comes because PC vendors have been slashing the prices of desktops and notebooks as they hustle to compete with each other. Another force pushing computer prices down is a series of recent price cuts by Intel Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. on their processors, the most expensive part of a PC. Now, as the holiday sales season approaches, things could get even worse for vendors like Dell Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co. In additional to wrestling with each other, they will also have to compete with consumer electronics companies, said George Shiffler, a research director at Gartner. Shoppers have a limited number of dollars to spend on electronics. That spells trouble for PC vendors since the price of a low-end desktop is comparable to a smartphone and its accompanying service contract, he said. Flat panel TVs will also compete with PCs, since excess production capacity has lowered LCD (liquid crystal display) prices and producers are expected to cut prices further with aggressive holiday discounts. Even Microsoft Corp.'s impending launch of the new Vista OS will produce only a temporary rise in sales, Shiffler said. The Gartner study echoes weak financial results at Dell, the world's largest PC vendor. Dell blamed cost cutting and weak demand for $14.1 billion in revenue for the quarter ended Aug. 4. That number was up only 5 percent over the same period last year although Dell sold 11.6 percent more computers worldwide, climbing from 8.7 million in the second quarter of 2005 to 9.7 million this year. Looking past 2006, the flood of low-cost PCs will drive brisk sales in emerging markets through 2008, but mature markets like the U.S. will soon slump to single-digit growth, Gartner said.
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As the demand for stylish hardware increases, manufacturers are stepping up to the plate.
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(InfoWorld) - Strong chip sales in the Asia Pacific region and the U.S. helped lift global sales to $20.1 billion in the month of July, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA). The figure represents an 11.5 percent increase over July, 2005, and is 1.8 percent higher than the $19.8 billion in sales registered in June, according to SIA. The industry association also noted thatÂ falling chip pricesÂ are helping pull down the cost of gadgets for end-users. "For example, the average selling price for a PC declined by approximately 7 percent year-over-year," the SIA noted in its report. Around 40 percent of all chips sold go into computer products. AÂ price warÂ between IntelÂ and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) could be a large part of theÂ fall in PC prices. The companies both halved prices on some desktop PC microprocessors, the most expensive PC component, in July. The global chip industry remains on course to set record high sales this year of over $240 billion, the industry group said, thanks to strong growth in the Asia Pacific and the U.S. But the figure the SIA noted isÂ lower than its May forecastÂ calling for $250 billion in chip sales this year. SIA representatives were not available to comment on the apparent full year sales target discrepancy.ADVERTISEMENTMAKE SOA REAL WITH IBM WEBSPHERE PODCASTStreamline processes and maximize efficiency within a proven service oriented architecture. Take back control of your business processes with IBM WebSphere.