TAIWANESE electronic-device manufacturer Acer Group Inc. announced its success across multiple product lines in the Philippines, as the International Data Corp. (IDC) said PC-market stabilization remains an elusive goal despite pockets of growth.
Citing IDC, Acer said in a statement it has led the notebook market for a decade (2006 to 2015), with between 28-percent and 35-percent market share, and has been the leader in total PCs for seven consecutive years (from 2009 to 2015), with 15-percent to 21-percent market share.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, IDC said Acer has been taken over by Taiwanese multinational computer hardware and electronics company ASUSTeK Computer Inc. in the Asia-Pacific (including Japan) PC shipments in the fourth quarter of last year, from a tie of 7.2-percent market share in the same period in 2014.
According to IDC in a January data of shipments by vendor, year-on-year unit growth rate of Asus dropped to 4.2 percent, while Acer’s doubled at 17.9 percent.
“The PC market continued to face persistent challenges from longer-PC life cycles and competition from mobile phones and tablets, despite the slowing growth in those markets,” IDC said in March. “However, economic issues, like falling commodity prices and weak international currencies, as well as social disruptions in EMEA and Asia-Pacific that disrupted foreign markets, were a larger factor for 2015.”
IDC also pinned the softness of the PC market in changes in the operating system, which “had a significant impact with the end of support for Windows XP and promotions of low-cost PCs driving a surge in replacements in 2014 that combined with the launch of Windows 10 and a free upgrade program to delay new system purchases in 2015.”
“While some very attractive new PCs have been launched, the market is taking some time to respond to new OS and hardware configurations—deciding when to upgrade and evaluating slim, convertible, detachable and touch variations [against] more traditional PCs.”
According to IDC, the Asia-Pacific PC market dipped 8 percent last year, and the research firm sees the market will continue to face challenges ahead this year.
In the display-product category, Acer said its monitors grew steadily last year to reach a high of 21.6-percent market share and No. 1 ranking in the fourth quarter of last year, citing IDC data. Meanwhile, Acer said its projectors ranked No. 2, with a 30-percent market share in full year 2015, citing PMA Research.
Acer said its smartphones have been growing quickly and shipped as nearly many units as its notebooks in the Philippines last year.
IDC said smartphone shipments in Southeast Asia hit slightly over 100 million units last year, posting a year-on-year growth of 22 percent. “All the emerging markets in Southeast Asia witnessed double-digit growth YoY, with the exception of Singapore, the only mature market to record an approximate 5-percent year-on-year decline.”
IDC said Indonesia remains the largest market for smartphones, accounting for nearly 29 percent of the total SEA market. It was followed by Thailand and the Philippines, at 22 percent and 14 percent, respectively.
“Acer’s strengths in the Philippines lie in its effective product-mix strategy, close collaboration with long-term channel partners, a dedicated and passionate team who deploys fresh and innovative marketing campaigns to grow the business year by year.”