GartnerGroup's Dataquest Says Lower PC Prices Stimulate Latin American PC Market to Grow 19 Percent in Second Quarter
Compaq Ships More than Twice as Many Units as Its Nearest Competitor
San Jose, California, August 20, 1999—As the average selling price of personal computers declined, Latin American personal computer shipments in the second quarter of 1999 increased 19 percent over the second quarter of 1998, according to Dataquest Inc., a unit of Gartner Group, Inc. (NYSE: IT). The region's growth was driven by Mexico, where shipments in the second quarter of this year grew 68 percent over the same period last year. Compaq increased its lead in the region, as its market share reached 23.6 percent. IBM was the No. 2 vendor in the region with 8.7 percent market share.
"Driven by an aggressive price and services strategy, Compaq dramatically increased sales in the region, as its market share was 15 points higher than the No. 2 vendor," said Luis Anavitarte, senior industry analyst for Dataquest's Personal Computer Quarterly Statistics Latin America program. "While still posting considerable unit growth, white boxes were directly affected by Compaq's regional performance, suggesting a new trend in the competitive landscape between clones and top-tier branded vendors."
Compaq and Dell were the only vendors among the top five to post growth figures above the regional average of 19 percent (see Table 1). Desktop computers grew 20 percent in the quarter, while notebook computer shipments increased 10 percent.
Table 1
Latin American PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates, Second Quarter 1999
Company Q2/98 Shipments Q2/98 Market Share (%) Q2/99 Shipments Q2/99 Market Share (%) Growth (%)
Compaq 161,404 19.2 235,535 23.6 46
IBM 84,944 10.1 87,361 8.7 3
Acer 62,310 7.4 67,763 6.8 9
Hewlett-Packard 58,470 7.0 48,016 4.8 -18
Dell 17,777 2.1 37,402 3.7 110
Others 455,176 54.2 522,597 52.3 29
Total Market 840,081 100.0 998,674 100.0 19
Note: Table reflects PCs only (desktop, and notebook). Server-marketed PCs are not included.
Source: Dataquest (August 1999)
Brazil was the No. 1 country in the region with shipments surpassing 305,000 units, as shipments grew 4 percent over the second quarter of 1998. Mexico was the No. 2 country with shipments of more than 290,000 units. The No. 3 country was Argentina with shipments approaching 100,000 units, which was a 5 percent increase over the same period last year. Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela experienced shipment declines in excess of 13 percent.
Dataquest's Personal Computer Quarterly Statistics Latin America program surveys the leading worldwide and local PC makers in Latin America. This program offers the most detailed and timely information on the Latin America market. Additional information on this program is available on Dataquest's Web site at: http://www.dataquest.com/dq/static/offer/programs/pcqslads19981130.html.
To subscribe to this program, please call 800-419-DATA, or 408-468-8009. More information about Dataquest's programs, descriptions of recent research reports, and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://www.dataquest.com.
GartnerGroup's Dataquest is the recognized leader in providing the high-technology and financial communities with market intelligence for the semiconductor, computer systems and peripherals, communications, document management, software, and services sectors of the global information technology industry.
As the world's leading authority on IT, GartnerGroup provides clients with a wide range of products and services in the areas of IT advisory services, measurement, research, decision support, analysis, and consulting. Founded in 1979, with headquarters in Stamford, Conn., GartnerGroup is at the center of a global community serving Fortune 1000 clients from 80 locations worldwide. Additional information about the company is available on the Internet at www.gartner.com.
CONTACT:
Tom McCall
(408) 468-8312
tom.mccall@gartner.com