A survey carried out by accountants Arthur Andersen & Co commissioned by the Software Publishers Association Europe finds that European software sales of 36 of the largest developers rose 18% in third quarter 1991 over the same 1990 period. Measured at wholesale, software sales to Europe stood at $272.8m, with most growth experienced by the still tiny Iberian market (45%), while the continent’s largest single market, Germany and Austria, clearly shows the continued effects of the developing east German region to grow 33% to $83.3m. Sales in the UK and Ireland rose 16% to $66.4m. Only the Benelux countries, Scandinavia and Italy experienced declines, with Italy the most off at 5%, and the Benelux marginally better at 4% down. Developers that participated include Lotus Development Corp, Microsoft Corp, Borland International Inc and Ashton-Tate, Aldus Corp, WordStar International Inc and Claris Corp. The information is submitted by firms on the understanding that data on specific products will not be compiled; nonetheless, the most obvious single impact on the figures is the appearance of Windows-based products, which according to the report now account for 36% of the total market compared to minimal penetration a year ago.
