If you want to know what is going on in the Latin American personal computer market, it is probably best to go not to Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo or Caracas, but to Framingham, Massachusetts, where International Data Corp has a team permanently on the case. Don’t bother if your interest is in Peru or Guatamala however – the team covers only six markets – Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela. It estimates that last year, shipments of personal computers in Latin America broke 2m units for the first time, with an estimated 86% of that in the six countries covered. In the number three position for the previous two years running, Compaq Computer Corp predictably went to the top of the tree, outselling IBM Corp and Acer Inc to become the number one vendor in the region. Compaq’s continued investment in regional operations and marketing, local manufacturing and a consistent business model has contributed to its success in the region, the researchers observe. The locals and the dilettante incomers are getting squeezed as the market matures, and IDC reckons that where in 1992, the top five brands accounted for 29% of total shipments, this soared to to 41% in 1993 and by 1994 the top five players took nearly 50% of the the market. Growth was unevenly spread, with the 24% for the region hiding growth – by units – of over 35% in Argentina, Brazil and Colombia, while Chile and Mexico grew just over 12%. The continued economic crisis in Venezuela significantly affected the market, which slumped by 23% in 1994. Brazil accounts for 32% of the 2m machines and Mexico for 25%, but with the vanishing of the peso from the popularity charts at the start of the year, IDC expects Mexico’s share to shrink to 16% this year in a regional market forecast to grow 11%. IDC did not give a price for the report.
