Acer Computer (M.E.) Ltd. has tightened its grip on the region’s notebook and desktop PC markets, with exceptional year-on-year growth figures, including triple-digit increases in the Saudi Arabian and UAE mobile PC sectors, Acer executives announced.
The company now ranks as one of the top three desktop and notebook PC suppliers in the Middle East region.
In Saudi Arabia, Acer has been the number one notebook PC vendor for 15 consecutive months, recording annual growth of 264 per cent during 2004. Acer now accounts for one in every four notebooks sold in the Kingdom, with a 26.6 per cent market share.
Consolidating its number two position in the UAE, Acer saw growth of 329 per cent last year, attaining 17.6 per cent market share, according to preliminary figures from international analysts IDC. Acer is also the number one notebook supplier in Kuwait, and is in a leading position in the Levant.
Acer now ranks third when notebook and desktop PCs are combined across the entire Middle East and Africa region. It has outstripped the competition in 2004 with an annual growth rate of 60 per cent – the largest increase of any other vendor. In Saudi Arabia, Acer now accounts for 18.4 per cent of the combined market, and 15.4 per cent in the UAE.
“Acer’s strategy of bringing the freshest technology to market, combined with its indirect sales strategy and its targeted marketing campaigns, have made it one of the leading players in the Middle East’s PC sector last year,” said Jyoti Lalchandani, regional director, IDC Middle East & North Africa. “Its notebooks in particular recorded extraordinary growth in 2004, to a position where it is now the first or second vendor in many countries across the region,” Lalchandani added.
“The last 12 months have been a defining year for Acer in the Middle East,” said Emanuele Accolla, vice president, EMEA, Acer Inc. “We have consistently taken market share away from our competitors across all areas of the business and have dominated the notebook sector in the region, to the extent that in Saudi Arabia alone we have been the number one notebook supplier for the last 15 months.”
Reflecting the worldwide success it enjoyed in 2004, Acer’s global consolidated revenues for the year jumped by 42.7 per cent to US$6.75 billion, up from US$4.73 billion in 2003. “While other vendors introduce temporary price cuts in an attempt to gain market share, Acer offers customers the latest technology at prices which are always affordable,” said Krishna Murthy, general manager, Acer Computer (M.E.) Ltd.
