Brands big in monitor market
- 17 October, 2000 12:01
Growth in the desktop PC market has fallen by almost 25 per cent since June, due to a combination of a seasonal slow period, the Olympics and component shortages, according to the latest figures from market analyst Inform.
While business has been sluggish, particularly for the white-box dealers who have been the most affected, the slump has proven a surprising windfall for brand-name monitor manufacturers.
The leading monitor vendors have been slowly gaining back market share since May -- up 15 per cent in the last four months. By August, these vendors accounted for just under 60 per cent of the market, Inform's latest market summary reports.
Although the overall monitor market has dropped 19 per cent since June, Samsung increased sales by more than a third since the last quarter to further cement its position as top vendor. LG Electronics also grew, overtaking Mitsubishi to move into second position.
Fifteen-inch screens continue to be the biggest sellers, with 52 per cent market share, despite marketing moves by many vendors to push larger screen sizes. However 17-inch screens are also popular, accounting for around 40 per cent of sales.
Inform reports Government contracts have been largely responsible for recent healthy sales figures, making up around a quarter of all third party monitor sales. Traditional resellers make up the next section of the market, but its 19 per cent market share has shrunk. "This channel, along with the independent retailers and VARs has lost share since May, in line with diminishing white-box sales," Inform analysts said in the report.