Australian PC Sales Plummet in Q1 2000

Australian PC sales experienced a significant decline in the first quarter of 2000, with only 442,116 units shipped, a decrease of 16.6 percent from the previous quarter and 8.4 percent from Q1 1999. According to IDC Australia analyst Logan Ringland, the drop was even worse than initially estimated, with shipments expected to reach 450,000 units. The corporate market was particularly affected by lingering Y2K issues and a slowdown in purchases ahead of the introduction of a lower general sales tax (GST) on July 1. Additionally, the shortage of Intel components, particularly the Intel Pentium III processor, contributed to the market downturn.

Key Takeaways:

PC sales in Australia during Q1 2000 decreased by 16.6 percent from the previous quarter and 8.4 percent from Q1 1999.
IDC Australia estimated shipments of 450,000 units, but the actual number was 442,116 units.
The corporate market was impacted by lingering Y2K issues and a slowdown in purchases ahead of the GST introduction.
The shortage of Intel components, including the Intel Pentium III processor, contributed to the market downturn.
DELL experienced a major drop of almost 18 percent in sales, sliding from third spot to fourth in the top five.
Compaq maintained its number one ranking, shipping 66,500 units and holding 15.1 percent of the overall PC market.
IBM and Hewlett-Packard experienced declines, while Toshiba saw an increase in its market share.

Statistics:

442,116 PC units shipped in Q1 2000, a decrease of 16.6 percent from the previous quarter.
8.4 percent decrease in PC sales from Q1 1999.
450,000 units estimated shipments by IDC Australia.
15.1 percent market share held by Compaq.
11.5 percent market share held by IBM.
10.6 percent market share held by Hewlett-Packard.
6.9 percent market share held by Dell (post-slide).
6.6 percent market share held by Toshiba.

Sources:

Newsbytes.com, "PC Market Hit by Y2K and GST", http://www.newsbytes.com (20000523/WIRES ASIA, PC, BUSINESS/)