Sales of PCs tumble in Asia-Pacific on mobile competition

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Sales of personal computers fell 10% in Asia-Pacific last year due to sluggish economic growth and tough competition from mobile devices, an industry analyst said Tuesday.

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International Data Corporation (IDC) said sales of PCs fell to 108 million units in the Asia-Pacific region outside Japan, marking the region’s first annual double digit decline.

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“The economic sluggishness in big emerging markets in the region adversely affected buying sentiments,” IDC said.

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“On the consumer side, smartphone and tablet distractions spread throughout the region this year, further contributing to the sharp decline in the PC market.”

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IDC analyst Handoko Andi added that “2014 is expected to remain another challenging year for the PC market as competition will only grow among the devices.”

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Chinese PC maker Lenovo retained its top spot last year with a market share of 24.9%, although sales fell 9.5% year-on-year due to a slump in its home market China, IDC said.

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U.S. firm Hewlett-Packard was in second place with a market share of 10.5%, up from 8.9% as sales rose due largely to an education project in India.

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Dell was in third spot with a 9.4% market share, as sales dipped 2.8% on a weaker China market.

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It was trailed by Taiwan’s Acer and ASUS with a market share of 8.1% and 6.9%, respectively, according to IDC.

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The decline in sales was sharpest for the Taiwan PC makers.

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Sales for Acer fell by a whopping 28.6% as the company continued “to struggle with its product strategy,” IDC said. ASUS sales were down by 13.4%.

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