Lenovo makes hay as EMEA PC market keeps shrinking in Q4

Chinese vendor storms into number-two spot as rivals all suffer

Lenovo was the only real winner as the EMEA PC market posted another downbeat set of numbers in Q4, but the UK showed "healthier results" than many of its counterparts.

Research from IDC finds that unit shipments across the region in Q4 fell 10.7 per cent annually to 30.9 million. The western European PC market shrank 12.5 per cent, with softness in Germany being somewhat mitigated by a slightly stronger performance in the UK and the Nordic countries.

Chystelle Labesque, personal computing research manager at IDC EMEA, said: "Retailers and distributors across the region remained cautious when taking new orders in order to avoid any inventory build-up, fearing weak consumer sales during Christmas and anticipating on Windows 8 transition."

HP remains EMEA's leading vendor and grew its market share year on year as sales declined a comparatively modest 6.9 per cent. The US titan holds a 20.3 per cent slice of the market, more than nine points clear of Lenovo, which has stormed into second place over the past year. In Q4 the Chinese vendor grew shipments 25.5 per cent year on year with market share rising from 7.9 to 11.1 per cent.

The remainder of the top five – Acer, Asus and Dell – suffered annual shipment declines of 22.3, 17.4 and 25.1 per cent respectively. The trio now have market shares of 10, 9.8 and 8.9 per cent.