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Personal computer sales dip 19 p.c in Q3

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CIOL Bureau
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NEW DELHI, INDIA: Manufacturer's Association for Information Technology (MAIT), the apex body representing the hardware, training and R&D services sectors of the IT industry in India, announced on Monday that personal computer (PC) sales, including desktops and laptops, declined 19 per cent in the October-December quarter as against the year-ago period.

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"The total PC sales between October and December 2008 were 1.4 million units, a decline of 19 per cent over the corresponding period last fiscal," MAIT said in its 'Quarterly Industry Performance Review' for the October-December quarter of the financial year 2008-09.

The sales of desktops stood at 1 million units while notebooks recorded a consumption of 3.5 lakh units, it said. However, MAIT expressed hope that the sales would go up in the current quarter.

The overall PC sales for 2008-09 are expected to remain at the same levels of last financial year at 7.3 million units, MAIT said in a statement.

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"With less than expected sales in the households and the enterprises, the desktops recorded a decline in consumption by fifteen per cent, while sales of notebooks fell by thirty per cent over the same period last year,” said MAIT executive director Vinnie Mehta.

He added that the consumption in the PC market was led by telecom, banking, education and the e-governance initiatives of the Union and the state governments.

However, SMEs, retail, BPO/IT-enabled services and corporate sectors demonstrated restrain in IT purchase due to concerns of liquidity and general economic performance.

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The review was conducted by market research firm IMRB (Indian Market Research Bureau).

As per the study, the assembled desktops – the smaller lesser known regional brands and unbranded systems – accounted for 39 per cent of the total desktop sales in the quarter under review, while the remaining 61 per cent were branded ones. Multi-national brands accounted for 48 per cent of the market while the Indian brands accounted for the rest 13 per cent.

The server market also witnessed a decline of 49 per cent in the third quarter, with only 21,000 units being sold, the MAIT study said.

The performance of the printers market also reflected a declining trend, the study added.

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