Daewoo Telecom Ltd has signed an agreement with En Pointe Technologies, a California-based PC retailer, to export 1.92 million low-cost PCs worth $840m by the end of next year. It is the second major contract Daewoo has signed with a US company in less than a month following on from a $700m deal for 1.4 million PCs in late August. Under the contract, the largest ever placed with a Korean PC maker, Daewoo will ship 1.18 million 400 MHz PCs and 740,000 433 MHz PCs to the US starting next month. We estimate Daewoo’s export of PCs next year will reach 3.3 million units worth $1.5bn, which would put us in the top 10 international computer exporters, said Daewoo Telecom vice president Lee Jung-tae. Last year Daewoo shipped 250,000 PCs to overseas markets to top the list
of Korean PC exporters.
Another Korean low-end PC maker, Trigem Computer Inc has been causing major waves in the US market with its cut-price PCs. Its US distribution subsidiary, EMachines Inc, grabbed nearly 50% of the low-priced PC market in the US in August according to data released by market research firm ZD Market Intelligence. According to ZD’s report, Trigem’s new desktop PC, etower, enjoyed a 46% market share in the sub-$600 segment of the market, with Compaq Computer Corp way behind with 26%. The research company also claimed Trigem ranked third overall in the retail PC market behind Compaq and Hewlett-Packard having increased its share from 9% in April to 19% in August.
E-Machines, which is being sued by Compaq over alleged copyright violations, is expected to be listed on Nasdaq next month. Daewoo Telecom is also being sued by Apple Computer Inc on similar grounds.
