Technology transition gathers steam as LED monitors capture 71.8% of overall sales

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  • India standalone PC monitor sell-throughs in top 30 cities drop 13.8% QoQ in JFM 2012
  • LCD sales drop nearly 41% quarter-on-quarter

India PC monitor sell-throughs in top 30 cities registered at 5.1 lakh units during the January-February-March 2012 quarter recording a 13.8% fall on account of continuing dull market sentiments. 

Table 1: India 30-City PC Monitor Sales by Form Factor and Growth Trends*,
January-March 2012 versus October-December 2011

Form Factor (lakhs of units)

4Q 2011 (Oct-Dec 2011)

1Q 2012 (Oct-Dec 2011)

Growth, %

(1Q 2012 over 4Q 2011)

Contribution

4Q 2011 (Oct-Dec 2011)

Contribution

1Q 2012

(Jan-Mar 2012)

LCD

2.4

1.4

-40.8%

41.1%

28.2%

LED

3.5

3.7

4.9%

58.9%

71.8%

Total

5.9

5.1

-13.8%

100%

100%

* Source: CMR’s India 30-City Monthly Standalone PC Monitor Market Review, 1Q 2012, May 2012 release 

In the overall India PC monitor market, LED sales touched 71.8% of total PC monitor sell-throughs in 1Q 2012. LG maintained its leading position with 23% market share, closely followed by Samsung. Acer and AOC were at third and fourth spots, respectively. LG and Samsung lost market shares, in favour of Acer and other small vendors. LED PC monitors are known to be more cost effective for users in terms of energy consumption, and this is one of the features strongly promoted by vendors and channel partners.

In terms of LCD sales, Samsung continued to be market leader with 27% share of sales. Acer moved to second position followed by AOC and LG. Dell continued to be at the fifth spot during 1Q 2012.

In LED sales, LG continued to lead the market with 26% share in 1Q 2012. Samsung at second spot faced stiff competition from Acer, with less than a half percentage point difference in their shares. AOC maintained its position at fourth spot.

India PC Monitor Market by Region

Southern India recorded the highest contribution of overall India PC monitor sales with a 41% share during 1Q 2012. Within this region, Acer and Samsung together contributed approx. 55% of total monitor sales. Western India, Northern India and Eastern India came in second, third and fourth, respectively during the quarter.

Mumbai stays #1, Kolkata strengthens its position as #2

While Mumbai with an 11% contribution in 1Q 2012 stayed as India’s #1 city for standalone PC monitor sales, it was Kolkata that not only retained but managed to marginally strengthen its position as the hub for PC and IT equipment supplies to Eastern India. The city consistently maintained its #2 position among the 30 leading Indian cities with a 9.9% contribution of PC monitor sell-throughs during 1Q 2012. AOC emerged as the #1 PC monitor vendor in Kolkata during the quarter.

“Kolkata’s position is significant in that it points to the higher preference for assembled PCs in the price-sensitive Eastern India market. Also, in spite of presence of smaller hubs like Bhubaneswar, Patna and Ranchi, a substantial portion of the Eastern India PC monitor market is still supported from Kolkata”, said Narinder Kumar, Analyst, IT Peripherals and Channels Research, CMR Infotech Practice.

Table 2. India PC Monitor Sell-Throughs: Top 6 Cities*,
October-December 2011 vis-à-vis January-March 2012 

Rank

Top 6 Cities in 4Q 2011

Top 6 Cities in 1Q 2012

1

Mumbai

Mumbai

2

Kolkata

Kolkata

3

Bangalore

Hyderabad

4

Delhi

Chennai

5

Hyderabad

Bangalore

6

Chennai

Delhi

* Source: CMR’s India 30-City Monthly Standalone PC Monitor Market Review, 1Q 2012, May 2012 release 

India PC Monitor Market by Screen Size 

Over 4Q 2011 and 1Q 2012, the sales of LCD 15.6”W PC monitors fell by a rate more than 45% per quarter. This technology shift was further accentuated by the fact that Samsung, the leader in the LCD monitor space does not have a product in the 15.6″W category. LG also announced its intention to  exit the LCD space in 4Q 2011. Low profit margins in the LCD business have forced vendors to shift to LED technology, which recorded a growth rate of 13% in sales by volume (units) in 1Q 2012 over the previous quarter. In LED, the 15.6”W PC monitor category witnessed a growth of more than 10% in sales by volume (units) in 1Q 2012 vis-à-vis 4Q 2011.

Impact of Trade Promotion Schemes

“Post six months of the Thailand floods, the average price of a hard disk drive is yet to normalize due to irregular supplies, leaving the total cost of an assembled PC almost unchanged. The resultant high price has suppressed assembled PC off-take, which in turn has lengthened the business cycle for partners with limited access to working capital, especially in upcountry locations”, stated Sumanta Mukherjee, Lead Analyst, CyberMedia Research InfoTech Practice.

“As the overall market sentiment in the October-November-December 2011 and the first two months of CY 2012 remained subdued, leading vendors like LG and others engaged in aggressive promotions aimed at channel partners as well as consumers to boost India PC Monitor market sales during the month of March. Schemes for end consumers included PC accessories, which effectively lowered the retail price, while a mix of nationwide and region wise promotional schemes were introduced to enhance channel sell-throughs”, Sumanta further added.

“The stabilisation of supplies of hard disks becomes critical for the success of this market, especially as it heads towards the ‘Education’ and ‘Festive’ season quarters”, Sumanta concluded.

Indian Rupee: US Dollar Exchange Rate Impact and The Way Ahead

“Major PC vendors, who had absorbed diminishing margins due to continual fall of the Indian Rupee against the US Dollar, have now started to pass on the burden to end consumers. This is expected to impact the desktop PC market and the standalone PC monitor market adversely”, surmised Narinder.

Notes to Editors

1)       Starting January-February-March 2012, the India standalone PC monitor market for consumer channels is based on sell-throughs of Tier II dealers across the country’s Top 40 cities.

2)       The study covers 5 major vendors, viz., Acer, AOC, Dell, LG, Samsung as well as other smaller vendors.

3)       It does not include Institutional, LFR (Large Format Retail) and online e-commerce sales by vendors.

4)       Technology segments covered in the study include LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and LED (Light Emitting Diode) PC monitors.

5)       The Top 40 cities may be classified under the following regions:

 

Eastern India

Northern India

Southern India

Western India

Bhubaneswar Agra Bangalore Ahmedabad
Guwahati Chandigarh Chennai Baroda
Kolkata Dehradun Cochin Bhopal
Patna Delhi Coimbatore Indore
Ranchi Ghaziabad Hubli-Dharwad Mumbai
Siliguri Gurgaon Hyderabad Nagpur
  Jaipur Kozhikode Pune
  Jammu Madurai Raipur
  Jodhpur Mangalore Rajkot
  Kanpur Trivandrum Surat
  Lucknow Visakhapatnam  
  Ludhiana    
  Varanasi