China’s domestic notebook PC are starting to eat into the market share of the previously dominant overseas brands. At present, the market leaders are Toshiba (with a cut-price $1,200 model specially for the Chinese market) at 28%, IBM at 15% and Compaq at 11%. Japan’s NEC, Taiwan’s Acer and Hewlett-Packard of the US are all making major moves to increase their market share this year as well.
But three local makers, none of which are major desktop manufacturers, are starting to provide serious competition to the multinationals. First off the starting blocks was Qinghau Violet Notebook, which last year launched the first domestic notebook production facility, with an annual capacity of 100,000 units and ISO 9002 quality certification, on Hainan island.
The company, as well as other recent local entrants to the market, claim to have used a value strategy from the start by producing notebooks which now match international competitors in terms of technology and quality, while undercutting them in price.
According to a survey in the official media, domestic brands are between $605 and $967 less expensive than foreign brands of the same specification. This has started to significantly impact sales statistics, with Qinghua Violet’s monthly sales growth since March running at about 200%. Competitors Fangzheng Yihe and Lianxiang Zhaoyang have reported similar growth figures.
