The overall PC shipments in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region saw a growth of 9.1% in the second quarter of 2012 compared to corresponding quarter in 2011, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC).
Increase stems from an easier year-on-year comparison, and maintained positive growth, from a sell-in standpoint compared with the same quarter last year and even outpacing a 5.6% forecast, the research firm said.
Growth in Western Europe was moderate at 4.1%, affected by continued softness in consumer demand, while commercial demand also slowed down.
Growth in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region outpaced expectations, recording strong 25.1% growth year on year, boosted by an aggressive vendor push in the region, according to the IDC Europe, Middle East and Africa Quarterly PC Tracker.
IDC EMEA Systems and Solutions Infrastructure group associate vice president Karine Paoli said while demand remained soft during the quarter, the market continued to benefit from a favorable year-on-year comparison versus 2Q11 last year, when sell-in was affected by the inventory buildup and led to a contraction of 8.4%, but was further boosted this quarter by an aggressive push from some vendors in the channel and a significant portion of sea-shipped products in transit for the third quarter.
"While this is likely to lead to softer sell-in levels in July and August, as the channel will need to leave room for the Windows 8 transition, the new Win8 product lineup will in turn support a reacceleration in September," Paoli added.
New ultra-book and ultra-slim products have come to market, but consumer spending continues to be geared toward other devices, tablets or phones, and the market remains very price sensitive or in a "wait and see" mode and therefore more receptive to lower price points for the time being.
IDC, however, forecasts the Windows 8 launch in October, combined with the expected push from vendors on ultra-slim models, will help revive consumer traction and drive a rebound during the back-to-school and Christmas seasons.
IDC CEMA research director Stefania Lorenz said, "The PC market in the Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa [CEMA] region recorded year-on-year growth of 15.2% unit shipments in 2Q12, reaching a volume of 12 million units."
With respect to venders, HP maintained strong leadership in EMEA despite softer performance in the second quarter due to slow demand in the consumer space in Western Europe and adversely impacted by a strong quarter last year in the commercial space.
Acer returned to a stronger position led by an easier year-on-year comparison, with the vendor suffering a 37.8% contraction last year due to the inventory buildup and Asus, taking the third position in the overall EMEA ranking, benefited from an aggressive sell-in push, continuing to grow across the region, IDC noted.
Dell dropped to fourth place, directly impacted by slower commercial demand and aggressive competition across all segments.
The vendor maintained strong positions in the desktop market in Western Europe and recorded robust growth in the Middle East, but suffered from tough competition in the notebook space.
Lenovo was at fifth and Toshiba occupied sixth position in the overall EMEA ranking with robust 34.9% growth, strong performance in Western Europe, and continued expansion in the Middle East and Africa region while Apple continued to enjoy strong brand momentum and benefited from the product lineup refresh.
