Europe’s PC market seems to be offering some small consolation for troubled Compaq Computer Corp, according to new figures from International Data Corporation. After earlier IDC figures suggested Compaq’s grip on the global PC market is slipping (CI No 3,648) the market watcher’s latest preliminary first quarter statistics for PC sales in Europe, Middle-East and Africa show Compaq increasing market share to 17.2% from 15.9% in the first quarter 1998, as its unit shipments grew 26% to 1.3 million.
Compaq’s growth exceeds the overall EMEA market growth of 15.9% and keeps it ahead of rivals IBM (8.9% market share), Dell (8.9%), Fujitsu (6.0%) and Hewlett-Packard (5.9%). However, all these rivals, with the exception of HP, recorded stronger growth, with Dell and Fujitsu’s unit shipments leaping ahead 46.9% and 46.0% respectively for the quarter, and IBM moving ahead strongly with a 31.6% unit shipment increase. HP actually saw shipments dip 6.7% which, IDC notes, must be considered in the context of last year’s extraordinary 68% hike in HP shipments. Nevertheless, HP’s latest first quarter was still weak enough to see slip behind Fujitsu to fifth in the EMEA pecking order.
