2012 : Monitors crash in India

When market sentiments are regaining their hold with networking and mobility-based solutions taking a leap forward, the monitor market in top 30 cities registered a steep fall of 13.8% in Q4, FY 11-12 across 30 prime cities in India.

The overall monitors market stood at 5.1 lakh units with the prime reason being cited as "dull market sentiments".

According to a latest report released by CyberMedia Research (CMR), in the overall monitor market, LED sales touched 71.8% of total monitor sell-throughs in Q3, FY 11-12. LG maintained its leading position with 23% market share, closely followed by Samsung. Acer and AOC were at third and fourth spots, respectively. However, the finding stated that market leaders LG and Samsung lost market shares, in favour of Acer and other small vendors.

LED monitors are known to be more cost effective for users in terms of energy consumption, and this is one of the features strongly promoted by vendors and channel partners.

In terms of LCD sales, Samsung continued to be market leader with 27% share of sales. Acer moved to second position followed by AOC and LG. Dell continued to be at the fifth spot during 1Q 2012.

In LED sales, LG continued to lead the market with 26% share. Samsung at second spot faced stiff competition from Acer, with less than a half percentage point difference in their shares. AOC maintained its position at fourth spot.

In terms of geography, southern India contributed the highest sales figure at recorded at 41% with Acer and Samsung together taking up 55% of the total market. The western region followed by north and east took up the second, third and fourth slots respectively during the quarter.

While Mumbai with an 11% contribution stayed as the primary market for standalone monitor sales, it was Kolkata that not only retained but managed to marginally strengthen its position as the hub for PC and IT equipment supplies to Eastern India. The city accounted for 9.9% contribution of PC monitor sell-throughs with AOC emerging as the leading brand in the city of joy, overtaking market leaders LG and Samsung by a good margin.

"Kolkata's position is significant in that it points to the higher preference for assembled PCs in the price-sensitive eastern India market. Also, in spite of presence of smaller hubs like Bhubaneswar, Patna and Ranchi, a substantial portion of the eastern India monitor market is still supported from Kolkata", said Narinder Kumar, analyst, IT Peripherals and Channels Research, CMR Infotech Practice.

"As the overall market sentiment in OND and the first two months of CY 2012 remained subdued, leading vendors like LG and others engaged in aggressive promotions aimed at channel partners as well as consumers to boost market sales during the month of March. Schemes for end consumers included PC accessories, which effectively lowered the retail price, while a mix of nationwide and region wise promotional schemes were introduced to enhance channel sell-throughs", said Sumanta Mukherjee, Lead Analyst, CyberMedia Research InfoTech Practice.

The overall fall in monitor market becomes evident as it compliments the assembled PC market which is on a decline.