A PC Industry Snapshot
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Competition in the PC business is more ferocious than ever going into the Christmas selling season. Here’s a quick look at how the major competitors stand.
Carving Up the PC Market
Overall market share, 1996 year-to-date (based on units shipped; includes desktop, mobile units)
Company name Percent
1. Compaq 14.4
2. Packard Bell/NEC 10.8
3. IBM 09.1
4. Apple 07.3
5. Dell 07.2
6. Toshiba 06.2
7. Gateway 2000 05.9
8. Hewlett-Packard 04.8
9. Acer 03.2
10. AST 02.1
All Other* 29.0
(*Includes second-tier brands and clone manufacturers.)
Who’s Hot, Who’s Not?
Company Growth rate, based on units shipped during third-quarter 1996 v. third-quarter 1995:
Toshiba 110.0%
Dell 84.3%
AST 51.3%
Gateway 2000 41.4%
Compaq 32.3%
IBM 23.9%
Hewlett-Packard 6.8%
Acer 3.2%
Packard Bell/NEC (-23.7%)
Apple (-37.6%)
Source: Dataquest
What’s in a Name?
Whether they’re entering the business or trying to hang onto market share, computer makers are spending big bucks on advertising:
Company: Acer
Estimated ad budget: $15 million to $20 million in fourth quarter
Comments: Hired hip agency Hal Riney & Partners and doubled spending from last year to boost lagging sales.
*
Company: AST
Estimated ad budget: $15 million to $20 million annually
Comments: Reviewing new ad agencies
*
Company: Fujitsu
Estimated ad budget: $20 million thru March 1997
Comments: Supports company’s entry into U.S. notebook market; includes $11 million campaign that just began.
*
Company: Hitachi
Estimated ad budget: $15 million annually
Comments: Supports company’s May entry in to the U.S. notebook computer market.
*
Company: Packard-Bell
Estimated ad budget: $15 million to $20 million in fourth quarter
Comments: Running first-ever national consumer ad campaign to build brand-name awareness.
*
Company: Sony
Estimated ad budget: $10 million in fourth quarter
Comments: Spending less than competitors, but can bank on respected brand name in consumer electronics.
*
Company: Toshiba
Estimated ad budget: More than $20 million annually
Comments: Increasing budget slightly to promote new Infinia desktop computers.
Sources: Dataquest, Advertising Age, Hitachi
