“Computer makers are scrambling to adjust to rapidly deteriorating demand for personal computers, cutting prices as they brace for what is quickly shaping up to be a cheerless holiday season,” Justin Scheck and Yukari Iwatani Kane report for The Wall Street Journal.
“Dell Inc. and some retailers are even offering discounts of 20% to 30% on new notebook computers, chipping away at profits in a segment that has enjoyed healthy demand,” Scheck and Kane report. “Until now, the $263 billion PC sector had shown resilience amid a slowing economy: World-wide PC shipments rose at least 12% in each of the first three quarters of the year. But PC sales have stalled in recent weeks as consumer spending has plunged.”
“Research firm IDC is preparing revised numbers that it could release as soon as Friday that project a 1% drop in U.S. PC shipments for the fourth quarter compared with a year earlier,” Scheck and Kane report. “The deteriorating PC climate portends poorly for Hewlett-Packard Co., the market leader with 19% global share in PC shipments, and Dell, which has roughly 15% share, according to IDC.”
“One exception to the trend may be Apple Inc. The Cupertino, Calif., company chose to pack more features into new aluminum MacBooks it unveiled last month, rather than drastically cut prices. The new aluminum MacBooks start at $1,299 and range upwards of $2,000,” Scheck and Kane report.
“The strategy allows Apple to maintain its brand’s premium reputation while protecting its industry-high profit margins, which are close to 20%. In its last reported quarter, the company reported double-digit growth in unit and revenue shipments for its Macintosh computers,” Scheck and Kane report. “Though analysts say Apple will likely be affected by the economy, they say the company will still see a solid holiday season as consumers snap up the new notebooks.”
More in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Citymark” for the heads up.]
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