Newly published figures from JEITA (Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association) show that the Japanese market has maintained growth in PC sales for the third quarter in a row. Between July and September 2004, PC sales volume for the Japanese market totaled more than 2.9 million units, marking 11% year-on-year growth. Total sales value hit 418 billion yen (US$3.9 billion), representing growth of 4% year-on-year.

 

JEITA's figures include sales from Dell, but even if the direct-sales computer maker were not included, sales would still be up in comparison with last year. JEITA attributes growth in PC sales to increased corporate IT replacement demand and a higher amount of new purchases, as well as aggressive rollouts of AV PCs.

 

JEITA's data also reveal that total PC sales grew by 7% year-on-year for the period April to September 2004. Nearly 5.5 million PCs were sold in the Japanese market for a total of 792 billion yen (US$7.4 billion), a slight dip of one percent in sales value. ASP (Average Selling Price) dropped 3% to 143,000 yen (US$1345).

 

Servers and desktop PCs accounted for 47% of the Japanese PC market between April and September 2004, while notebook PCs made up 53%. Sales of the A4 size range of notebook PCs shrunk by 4% year-on-year, just short of 2.1 million units. Sales of the smaller B5 sized notebook models (which weigh around 2kg or less), on the other hand, grew by 25% year-on-year to total 815,000 units. These growth patterns were attributed to two root causes: corporate clients tend to prefer lightweight notebook units, while customers who do not require mobility opt for desktop units rather than bulkier-sized notebooks.