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| GartnerGroup's Dataquest Says European Home PC Market Experienced Exceptional Growth in First Quarter 1999 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Overall European PC Market Driven by Sales in the Home Sector | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Egham, United Kingdom, May 6, 1999—Spurred in part by the sale of lower-priced personal computers into the home market, European PC shipments in the first quarter of 1999 increased 20 percent over the first quarter of 1998, according to Dataquest Inc., a unit of Gartner Group, Inc. (NYSE: IT). Home PC shipments in the region grew 57 percent over the same period last year, while the professional segment grew 9 percent in the quarter. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Ever lower prices, the allure of the Internet, and new cost-saving channels, as well as innovative marketing promotions, are all driving consumer growth," said Philip Williams, senior industry analyst for Dataquest's PC Quarterly Statistics Europe program. "Contrary to perceived wisdom that home users will play to the same basic rules that professional buyers have stuck to, of finding a price level they are comfortable with and by and large just accepting increasing levels of technology, home buyers just want more, but at substantially lower prices." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fujitsu experienced the strongest growth among the top-tier vendors because of its strong growth in the home market in Germany and around Western Europe (see Table 1). Fujitsu took the No. 1 position in the home market in total Europe for the first time ever. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Table 1 European PC Vendor Shipment Estimates for 1998 (Thousands of Units)
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| Compaq performed well in the major European countries to hold the No. 1 position in the overall market. Dell continued to do well, as its first quarter 1999 shipments increased 43 percent from the same period last year. Dell's growth is attributed to its continued success in the professional segment. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The region was led by Germany, where shipments reached 1.6 million units, an increase of 34.6 percent over the first quarter of 1998. The United Kingdom was the No. 2 country with shipments of 1.4 million units, which is up 24 percent from last year. France, the No. 3 country, had shipments reach 895,000 units, a 32 percent increase over the first quarter of 1998. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| These countries experienced even stronger growth in the home market. Home PC shipments in Germany grew 109 percent in the first quarter of 1999. Home PC shipments in the United Kingdom and France grew 75 percent in each region. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Fujitsu sold 200,000 PCs through MediaMarkt and the food retail channel in Germany," said Mr. Williams. "This demonstrates the degree to which the consumer market is booming there." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dataquest analysts will examine the future of the PC industry during the upcoming GartnerGroup's Dataquest Predicts 99 Conference, to be held June 7-9 at the Hotel New York Convention Centre in Paris, France. Dataquest analysts will also provide their outlook for the other sectors of the high-technology industry. More information on the event is available on GartnerGroup's Web site at http://www.gartner.com/public/static/events/predict_euro/predict_euro.html. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Additional information on the European PC market is available in Dataquest's PC Quarterly Statistics Europe program. This program offers a comprehensive and timely picture of the European PC market. More information on this program is available on Dataquest's Web site at http://www.dataquest.com/dq/static/offer/programs/pcqseuds19981130.html. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| To subscribe to this program, please call 800-419-DATA, or 408-468-8009. More information about Dataquest's programs, descriptions of recent research reports, and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://www.dataquest.com. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| GartnerGroup's Dataquest is the recognized leader in providing the high-technology and financial communities with market intelligence for the semiconductor, computer systems and peripherals, communications, document management, software, and services sectors of the global information technology industry. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| As the world's leading authority on IT, GartnerGroup provides clients with a wide range of products and services in the areas of IT advisory services, measurement, research, decision support, analysis, and consulting. Founded in 1979, with headquarters in Stamford, Conn., GartnerGroup is at the center of a global community serving Fortune 1000 clients from 80 locations worldwide. Additional information about the company is available on the Internet at www.gartner.com. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| CONTACT: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hanne Main +44-1784-487-331 hanne.main@gartner.com |
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