September 10 (SeeNews) - The combined sales of personal computers (PCs) in Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia fell 19.5% on the year to just over 320,000 units in the first half of 2009, market intelligence and advisory company IDC Adriatics said.
Croatian PC vendors moved 111,133 units through June, down 24% on the year, with business slowing sharply across all segments - desktops, laptops and x86 servers, the company said in a statement posted on its website (www.idc-adriatics.com) on Wednesday.
The desktop segment took the biggest hit, contracting by 27% on the year to 52,689 units. Laptop sales were down 21% to 55,540 units while sales of x86 servers fell 13% from a year earlier to 2,904 units.
The crisis that gripped the Croatian market in the first quarter grinded on during the three-month period through June. The slump was made especially evident by the absence of major public procurement procedures in both the private and public sectors and by lower demand from at-home users, IDC said.
Laptops boosted their market share to 50% of the overall sales volume through June with desktops down to 47%, the company said without elaborating.
HP continues to lead the Croatian PC market in terms of volume, followed by M San Grupa and Acer.
IDC said PC sales in Slovenia fell 13% on the year to 72,218 units through June.
Desktops posted a 37% year-on-year drop to 28,794 units while sales of x86 servers fell 40% to 2,135 units. The laptop segment bucked the downturn, rising 21% to 41,289 units, IDC said.
Slovenia's PC market in the first half was shaped by cutbacks in IT spending, lack of major projects, a slowdown in promotional campaigns and price discounts, IDC said.
Laptops had a 57% share of the PC market in the first half with desktops at 40% and x86 servers accounting for the balance.
HP has the biggest market share in Slovenia, followed by Lenovo and Acer.
First-half PC sales in Serbia fell 18.7% on the year to 140,007 units.
Vendors moved 99,218 desktops, or 18% less than a year earlier, and 39,337 laptops, down 19% year-on-year. Sales of x86 servers halved to 1,452 units.
IDC said it expects the current economic downturn to serve as a catalyst for a shift towards laptops and nettops which are expected to become market drivers.
Desktop sales account for 71% of the Serbian PC market while laptops have only 28%.
ComTrade is the biggest vendor in terms of volume in Serbia, ahead of Toshiba and HP.