VietNamNet Bridge – Not until the third quarter will the computer market recover and regain growth, said retailers.

 

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Hoang Ngoc Vy, general director of Vien Thong A, said laptop sales had been affected the economic woes. “The laptop market will still record growth, but not as strong as expected. The third quarter is said to be the time for this market to make breakthrough,” she said.

Many new laptop lines are scheduled for launch in the third quarter, and then prices of old models will be lowered, stimulating the buying energy. In addition, the demand for computers often surges during the new school year season.

The market research firm IDC reports computer retailers are coping with high volume of unsold products, but it does not unveil the specific figure.

In the first quarter, the number of unsold computers was considerable due to economic woes and strong competition from tablets and smartphones, though the computer market achieved a positive growth in the fourth quarter of 2012.

IDC’s quarterly survey on the Asia-Pacific computer market published on March 13 shows that Vietnam’s computer market in the fourth quarter of 2012 recorded a growth of 20.5% over the preceding quarter and 3.4% year-on-year. The total sales volume was 638,000 computers.

A large volume of personal desktop and laptop computers remained unsold in the fourth quarter last year despite suppliers’ efforts to boost sales. Therefore, computer suppliers and retailers are still struggling with high inventory and weak demand.

At most mobile device retail centers like Thegioididong.com, Vien Thong A, Phong Vu, Nguyen Kim and Thien Hoa, laptops are suffering poor sales. Most consumers choose cheap computers priced at VND6-11 million each.

Tran Duc Tai, general director of Thegioididong.com, said there would be no new product arrival this month, but only old laptops lines with upgraded processors would go on sale with unchanged prices. Asus Taichi and Lenovo Yoga 13 are currently the most popular products as they are combinations of laptops and tablets.

“The laptop computer market will remain difficult in the coming time,” he forecast.    

Source: SGT