PC market in Asia Pacific excluding Japan marks region's first double-digit decline

Preliminary results from IDC have shown that the Asia Pacific (excluding Japan) PC market declined by 10% in 2013, to the tune of just 108 million units. In contrast, 89 million iPhone 5 units have been sold since it launched in September 2012, according to September 2013 figures from Statistic Brain.

IDC notes that "smartphone and tablet distractions spread throughout the region", which coupled with economic sluggishness in big emerging markets in the region, adversely affected buying sentiments. Education sector projects were the lone bright spot in the commercial space.   

"The year ended on a somber note for the PC market, as it declined for the second consecutive year. Distraction from competing devices, ongoing pessimism in the economy and exchange rate pressures were among the factors impacting the market this year," says Handoko Andi, Research Manager for Client Devices at IDC Asia/Pacific.

Lenovo retained its top spot, although it posted an annual decline in 2013 due to the slump in its home market China. HP’s year-on-year growth in 2013 was almost entirely due to fulfillments for a big education project in India. Weakness in China also affected an "otherwise good" year for Dell in the region. Asus and Acer also posted declines in the region in 2013.  

Handoko said: "2014 is expected to remain another challenging year for the PC market, as competition will only grow among the devices. Further, exchange rate pressures, political risks and economic uncertainties will all likely spill-over into 2014 as well. That being said, if the big ticket education projects from last year get repeated, or if the Wintel eco-system is able to bring low-price full function PCs to the market, these are all potential upsides that could help drive volumes in the upcoming year."

Table 1 Asia/Pacific (ex. Japan) PC Shipments by Vendor,  2013 (Preliminary) vs 2012
Rank	Vendor	2013 Market Share	2012 Market Share	Year-on-Year Unit Growth
1	Lenovo	24.9%	24.7%	-9.5%
2	HP	10.5%	8.9%	5.3%
3	Dell	9.4%	8.7%	-2.8%
4	Acer	8.1%	10.2%	-28.6%
5	ASUS	6.9%	7.1%	-13.4%
	Others	40.2%	40.4%	-10.5%
	Total	100.0%	100.0%	-10.2%
Source: IDC, January 2014

Table 2 Asia/Pacific (ex. Japan) PC Shipments by Vendor,  4Q13 (Preliminary) vs 3Q13 and 4Q12
Rank	Vendor	4Q13 Market Share	3Q13 Market Share	4Q12 Market Share	Year-on-Year Unit Growth
1	Lenovo	28.1%	24.6%	27.3%	-6.2%
2	Dell	10.2%	10.0%	8.5%	9.8%
3	HP	9.6%	11.5%	9.3%	-6.1%
4	Acer	7.2%	8.3%	9.0%	-27.6%
5	ASUS	7.0%	6.4%	6.4%	-0.3%
	Others	37.9%	39.2%	39.5%	-12.7%
	Total	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	-9.0%
Source: IDC, January 2014