PC shipments in Western Europe registered a decline of 18.9% in the second quarter of 2011, according to market research firm Gartner.
The number of PCs sold in Western Europe totaled 12.7 million in 2Q 2011.
The mobile PC market was hit hard with a 20.4% decline comapred with the same quarter last year, while desktop PCs declined 15.4% year-on-year.
Mini-notebook shipments decreased 53%. Acer lost the No. 1 position in the PC market as a result of significant inventory adjustments and a decrease in mini-notebook sales.
Gartner principal analyst Isabelle Durand said Acer’s decline of nearly 50% in the second quarter pulled down the market further than expected.
"Acer had significant inventory that led to its weak performance, but it also prevented other vendors from pushing new shipments into the channel," said Durand.
Gartner principal analyst Meike Escherich said, "The PC market in Western Europe suffered from weak demand in both the professional and consumer sectors, a market which also faced inventory issues caused by overstocking in 2010."
"The much anticipated uptake in the professional segment, in the wake of migration to Windows 7, was subdued by the negative economic outlook," said Escherich.
"PC shipments in the professional segment declined 9 percent in the second quarter of 2011. The biggest decline continued to come from the consumer segment which decreased 27 percent year-on-year."
Acer’s weak performance resulted in HP moving to the No. 1 position, while Dell remained in the No. 3 position, said Gartner.
Asus shipments declined 22.9% as consumer demand remained weak and mini-notebook shipments fell rapidly.
"This quarter’s results highlights the ongoing weakness of consumer demand, and could indicate a structural change in the market that threatens to continue in the near future," said Escherich.
PC shipments in the UK totaled 2.5 million units in the second quarter of 2011, a decline of 15% compared with the same period in 2010.
Apple and Samsung were the only vendors in the top five vendors ranking to post single-digit growth.
"PCs are not attracting consumers’ disposable income, particularly in light of alternative devices. While remaining an important device to consumers, there are few compelling technological reasons to drive PC replacements," said Durand.
For the fourth consecutive quarter, the PC market in France showed decline. PC shipments in France totaled 2.3 million units in 2Q 2011, a decline of 17.8% compared with the same period in 2010.
France also exhibited the weakest PC growth of the three major countries in Western Europe in the second quarter of 2011.
"The French PC market is expected to improve in the second half of 2011, with more attractive back-to-school promotions compared to a year ago and product refreshes," said Durand.
"However, the availability of new media tablet models will lead to a price battle in the mobile market. Some level of government austerity measures due to the recent economic issues could also impact consumer confidence and spending in France."
PC shipments in Germany totaled 2.4 million units in 2Q 2011, a decrease of 13.3%, its second consecutive quarter of double-digit shipment decline.
"The PC market in Germany is in a period of adjustment after exhibiting strong shipment growth of consumer PCs for several years," said Escherich. "For the second half of 2011, we expect to see a modest increase, rather than high double-digit annual growth patterns."
