(Nikkei BP Group)
(No.1 High-Tech News Site in Japanese)
|
|
| PC Sales in Japan Fall 25 Pct. in 3rd Week of Jan.
|
|
February 16, 1999 (TOKYO) -- Personal computer sales in Japan fell almost
25 percent in the third week of January over the previous week.
|
The Japanese PC market for individual users is having a slow bout after
the end of 1998, when it was more active than expected. Spring models
will be put on the market soon, so prospects are taking a wait-and-see
position until the new products become available.
According to data collected by GfK Japan Ltd.,
an information service company that deals with point-of-sales data from
electric appliances volume stores, PC sales at about 2,000 such stores
during the third week of January (Jan. 18-24, 1999), were down 24.9
percent in volume and down 24.8 percent in value from the previous week
(See table.).
Compared with the same week last year (Jan. 19-25, 1998), sales were
up 33.9 percent in volume and up 29.1 percent in value. The increase
of 33.9 percent in volume in comparison with the same week the previous
year was the lowest after the third week of July 1998, which was just
before the Windows 98 operating system was put on the market (32.6 percent).
New models of iMac with more choice in colors, compact desktop models
with an LCD monitor and other spring models started to go on sale in
late January. PC sales at electric appliances volume stores hit bottom
around this period.
The average selling price rose by 472 yen from 217,983 yen (US$1,920)
the previous week (the lowest level since GfK started conducting research)
to 218,455 yen (US$1,923). An increase in the average selling price
in comparison with the previous week was recorded for the first time
after four consecutive weeks that had recorded a constant decline.
GfK Japan collects POS data from 55 IT-related retail sales companies
centering on volume sales stores of home electric appliances throughout
Japan, covering about 3,200 stores (as of April 1998). In cooperation
from GfK Japan, Nikkei Market Access gives weekly reports of personal
computer sales in number and value.
The volume and value of sales have been based on the data obtained from
the same 41 companies (about 2,000 stores) since April 1996 so as to
enable time series comparison.
It is estimated that the number of PCs sold at these 2,000 stores amounts
to about 10 percent of gross domestic shipment, and when limiting it
to the storefront sales channel, the share comes to about 25 percent
of such shipment.
The following graphs are at Nikkei
Market Access web site in Japanese only:
- Trends in the number of (all types of) PCs sold in a week.
- Trends in the sales amount (in money) of (all types of) PCs in a week.
- Trends in the average sales price of (all types of) PCs sold in a week.
- Trends in the number of desktop PCs sold in a week.
- Trends in the sales amount of desktop PCs in a week.
- Trends in the average sales price of desktop PCs in a week.
- Trends in the number of notebook PCs sold in a week.
- Trends in the sales amount of notebook PCs in a week.
- Trends in the average sales price of notebook-size PCs in a week.
Table: PC sales in the third week of January, 1999 (GfK Japan survey)
Comparison with the same week a year ago (January 19 to 25, 1998). |
|
|
|
(return to news)
Related stories:
Japan's Desktop PC Sales Decline in 2nd Week
of January
New iMac Model Sells Well in Japan, But Retailers
Complain
(Nikkei
Market Access)
<Visit News Center for more Asian news.>
|
|
|
