HP lead the Middle East PC market in the third quarter of 2003, holding a 23.7 percent share, according to IDC figures. The company has been able to hold strong positions in the desktop market while continuing to gain share in the booming consumer notebook space.
The vendor was also able to grow substantially in the PC server space especially in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, reflecting HP's strategy to target the SMB space with its low-end Intel-based servers, in addition to end-users response to the vendor's latest server replacement campaign.
Ranking second, Dell was able to garner nine percent of the Middle East PC market in the third quarter of 2003. Dell's results were driven by all form-factors; desktops and PC servers witnessed growth in the UAE and smaller countries of the Gulf from its delivery to Dell's existing accounts within governments and large and very large businesses.
In Saudi Arabia, however, a drop in Dell shipments was noted, mainly due to the end of several large projects that were carried out last year. Dell's notebook shipments had phenomenal growth in most countries due to the increased price reductions coupled with the effort to supply GITEX 2003 in the UAE with enough stocks.
Acer ranked third on the Middle East PC market, comprising a 6.4 percent market share. This represents a substantial growth for the vendor over from 2002 and was driven by all form factors. Acer's restructuring of operations and increased focus in the region combined with its popularity in the retail segment and its focus on price helped the vendor achieve such growth rate.
Acer also renewed its channel focus in the Saudi market with its first tier-channels and is currently offering incentives, loyalty programs, and training across its channels along with campaigns, price promotions, and a constant availability of products. This new strategy comes as part of Acer's operations merger with its European operations and was proven successful with the demand seen from the retail space, especially for Acer's notebook models.
The vendor also launched a number of new desktop and notebook models in the region focusing on all end-user segments and was able to invest heavily on events such as the 'Dubai Summer Surprises' festival and GITEX 2003.
IBM came in fourth position in the PC market in the Middle East this quarter. The vendor along with others continues to fight for a stronger presence in the SMB segment, as well as maintaining its position in the corporate and government market. In the notebook space, however, IBM is facing aggressive competition from Acer, HP and Toshiba.
Toshiba continued its aggressiveness in the Middle East PC market, and with its full focus on the notebook segment, the vendor was able to rank fifth on the overall PC market and second in the notebook space during the third quarter. Toshiba is expected to target growing demand from smaller countries of the gulf in the coming quarters; this is evident with the vendor's newly established partnership in Bahrain and the aggressive targeting of its notebook models in Kuwait and the rest of the Gulf countries. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
