MAIT Masala

MAIT (Manufacturers' Association for Information Technology), the IT industry association representing the hardware sector, has said that the desktop PC market crossed 8.3 lakh units in fiscal 2000-01 registering a growth of 26 percent over the same period last year and 12 percent over the second half of 1999-2000. It has further said that with less than expected sales of PCs, especially in the second quarter, the projection for the annual sales for 2000-01 have been revised downwards from 1.9 million units to 1.75 million units.

MAIT's review which is conducted by IMRB (Indian Market Research Bureau), is bi-annual and aims to address the hardware sector's efforts to manage the business environment, gauge the market potential and consumer trends. The first mid-year report evaluates the industry's performance between April-September and the second, the period of October-March.

Interestingly, the MAIT study says that the assembled PCs--including smaller lesser-known regional brands and unbranded systems--accounted for 59 percent of the PC sales during the first half of 2000-01, up from a share of 57 percent during the same period last year. While the market share of MNC brands increased from 22 to 24 percent, that of Indian brands reduced from 21 to 17 percent.

Another interesting finding of the study is that first time buyers of PCs continued to constitute more than half the market. 50 percent of the first time buyers in the first half of 2000-01 accounted for almost half of the total sales where as in the same period last year, two-thirds of the first time buyers accounted for more than 50 percent of the PC sales. The share of home segment--purchasing PCs for personal use--has significantly increased as compared with home-offices.

Without doubt it is the PC segment which overall drives the hardware market. And, it is expected that the PCs will make deep inroads in the home, SOHO and small enterprises segments. Another accelerator of PC growth is going to be the proliferation of Internet as a number of private ISPs have joined the fray and access charges are falling rapidly everyday.

Heavy spending by banks and financial institutions will also spur growth.

An interesting aspect of the PC segment in the coming months is going to be the keen tussle between MNCs and local PC vendors. Ultimately, the winners amongst the lot are going to be only those players who are able to supply good quality at competitive prices coupled with wide reach.