NEC Computers International (NEC CI) was Western Europe’s sixth largest PC vendor in 2002, per results published by Gartner Dataquest in February 2003. Despite a morose economic climate, the company posted a growth of approximately 5% shipping over 1.5 million units in Western Europe.
According to Gartner Dataquest, in a shrinking desktop market (-5.3%), NEC CI’s sales were up to 1.6%.
In the notebook market, which grew by 20.1% in 2002, NEC CI’s outpaced the market, shipping over 32.6% more units in 2002 than in 2001.
2002 was a tough year in the server marketplace for all vendors, but unlike many of its competitors, NEC CI’s posted strong positive results in Q4 – 2002 (+20.7%).
In the 2002 Western European consumer market, the consumer division of NEC CI, Packard Bell, continues to be one of Europe’s home PC leaders. In particular, it remains very strong in key markets such as Belgium, France, Netherlands and UK, where it rebounded to number one in Q4-2002.
In the professional market, NEC CI’s market share remained steady, while many of its competitors lost ground.
“2002 was a very rough year for all PC vendors, which makes our performance all the more remarkable. Thanks to our unique business model, we have increased our overall market share. At NEC CI, we are convinced that there is still room for growth in the IT industry. Mobility will remain a major trend on both consumers and professionals. NEC CI continues to develop a complete range of products (from high-end laptops to Pocket PC devices) that offers the latest technologies at the best price to all users. In the consumer segment, our main objective is to establish NEC CI as a major player in the digital home entertainment marketplace, while in the professional segment, we are aiming to consolidate our position thanks to innovative servers and storage solutions, mobility products and services”, says Michel Fromont, President & CEO – NEC Computers International.
Packard Bell’s dominance in the consumer market can be ascribed to three main factors.
First, Packard Bell pioneered the concept of solutions for consumers and continued in 2002 with offers such as the Packard Bell & Disney Pack and the Packard Bell Photo Dre@am Machine. These special configurations bring together the hardware, content and services that users need to get the most out of their favourite activities. The end-result is a product offer that combines Packard Bell’s keen customer knowledge with NEC CI innovation and technology.
Second, Packard Bell has extended its product line-up to include three notebook models and new mobile devices such as the Packard Bell PocketGear (Pocket PC) and the Packard Bell AudioKey (personal storage device and MP3 player). Aimed at enabling users to extend digital home entertainment products out of the home and into their lives, these new products struck a chord in the market, injecting excitement and interest in new technologies in what was otherwise a glum market. This tradition of innovation will continue in 2003 with the introduction of new notebooks, LCD-TVs, smart displays, desktop PCs, etc.
Finally, Packard Bell will continue to back the quality of its products with the quality of its services, thanks in large part to its European production facilities, and its long-standing relationship with Europe’s leading retailers.
NEC: innovation through understanding
NEC CI attributes its results in the professional market to its increasingly close relations with its parent company, NEC Corporation, which enables it to bring innovative technological solutions to market in a timely fashion. Among the highlights of 2002 was the launch of the first NEC Fault Tolerant server to run on Linux and the release of Intel Xeon processor-based, rack-optimised servers, which bring enhanced performances to space-constrained computing environments. 2002 was also marked by the launch of the NEC VERSA P440 and NEC VERSA M300 notebooks and the first professional desktops to feature the Intel Pentium 4 at 3.06 GHZ.
The hallmark of 2003 will be innovation, with the release of two-way servers for departmental environments; the NEC VERSA S800, the world’s thinnest notebook PC; and the NEC VERSA T400, the world’s thinnest and lightest Tablet PC. NEC continues to innovate on other fronts, with an ever-larger range of customized business solutions and an expanded range of availability and security solutions.
About NEC Computers International
NEC Computers International (NEC CI), one of the major consolidated subsidiaries of the NEC Corporation and part of the operation of NEC Solutions, is Europe’s sixth largest manufacturer of personal computers (Source: Gartner Dataquest / February 2003).
NEC CI supplies the consumer market with the Packard Bell brand and the professional market with the NEC brand in Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia (except Japan and China).
NEC CI owns two R&D centres (France, Malaysia) and three factories (France, Malaysia and Scotland).
The company employs 3,000 people worldwide.
Its headquarters are located in Wijchen, The Netherlands.
Gartner Dataquest PC Quarterly Statistics – Europe, Middle East & Africa – January 2003
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