Indian PC market grew 6.6 p.c. in Q1: Gartner

MUMBAI, INDIA: The combined desk-based and mobile PC market in India totalled nearly 2.8 million units in the first quarter (Q1) of 2012, a 6.6 per cent increase over the Q1 of 2011, according to Gartner, Inc.

“Consumer buying accounted for 47 per cent of total PC sales in the Q1 of 2012, which is down three per cent from the fourth quarter of 2011,” said Vishal Tripathi, principal research analyst at Gartner “This underlies the fact that high inflation and increased prices have forced users to either prolong the life of their devices or postpone their purchase decision. The increase in excise and import duties also played a part in decision making postponement. The delay in rate contract from DGSND (Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals) did not help market growth.”

White boxes (including parallel import), which accounted for 45 per cent of the overall desktop market, declined 20 per cent in the Q1 of 2012 in comparison to the Q1 of 2011. Mobile PCs, with a 27 per cent increase from the Q1 of 2011, helped drive overall market growth.

The partial execution of the Tamil Nadu government order helped Lenovo’s PC shipments grow 64 per cent and reach the No. 1 postion in the Q1 of 2012. HP’s PC shipment grew 21 per cent, whereas Dell declined 11 per cent in compared to the Q1 of 2011.

Multinational brands contributed to more than half of the total PC shipments in the Q1 of 2012, with shipments from Acer, Dell, HP and Lenovo, the top four vendors, representing 54.5 per cent of the market.

Local vendor HCL’s PC market share dropped to 5.8 per cent in the Q1 of 2012, as it experienced a 13 per cent year-on-year decline from the Q1 of 2011.