The worldwide and US PC markets experienced double-digit growth during the second quarter, with Compaq maintaining its lead position in both markets, according to studies published by Dataquest and International Data.
Compaq took 9.7% of worldwide PC sales, down from 10.4% for the same quarter last year. The largest worldwide gains were made by IBM, which increased unit sales by 33.6% over the year-ago quarter, giving it 8.8% of the market, according to industry research specialist Dataquest.
NEC and Hewlett-Packard also made strong gains, increasing sales by about 30% over the same period last year, giving them a market share of 5.1% and 4.3%, respectively. The overall world PC market swelled by 16.5% in unit shipments over the year-ago quarter.
Apple was the only company in the top five to see its slice of the market shrink. The company retained its number-three slot worldwide, but suffered a 16.7% reduction in unit sales, compared to an increase of 7.4% for the year-ago quarter, according to Dataquest.
Compaq shipped 1.43 million units total, compared to 1.41 million by IBM, 840,000 by Apple, 810,000 by NEC and 690,000 by HP. The US market, riding sales in portables and commercial desktops, saw overall growth of 18%, to 5.9 million unit shipments, compared to first-quarter growth of 16%, according to IDC.
Compaq's share of the US market fell slightly, from 12% in last year's second quarter to 11.8% this year, but it retained its number-one position with 16% growth, according to IDC.
Apple, in fourth position behind Packard Bell and IBM, saw US sales slump 21% from the year-ago quarter, with its market share falling from 10.3% to 6.9%. Its weakness in consumer and portable PCs was offset slightly by strong shipments in its Power Macintosh lineup of PCs, which the company refreshed in April, IDC says.
Dell's strategy of focusing on direct sales to large institutions helped its sales increase by 50% over the year-ago quarter, to 370,000 units, or 6.2% of the US market. Packard Bell and IBM also experienced strong growth, increasing sales by 21% and 33%, respectively. Packard Bell took 9.7% of the market compared to IBM's 8.6%, up from 9.5% and 7.6% respectively for the year-ago quarter.
Compaq shipped 702,000 units in the US, compared to 580,000 by Packard Bell, 511,000 by IBM, 410,000 by Apple and 370,000 by Dell.
Dataquest: http://www.dataquest.com.