Mac Market Share Surges to 5% in UK

[davidbrummy]

The true picture

Apple is naturally only going to open stores slowly where it is sure it can make money. Last thing as a company you want to do is open lots of stores only to have to close a bunch down as they are not making money. The problem in San Francisco is the downtown store is way too busy and I don't go near the place. They are even telling people to get their Macs repaired at other places because they have a backlog.

What Apple has going for it is people buy an iPod then maybe an iPhone, then a laptop, then a Apple TV etc. Single stats like this are not very useful. It is like saying Windows 7 is outselling OSX. It doesn't show anything.

 

[iPoodOverZune]

so those buying cheap, go for Acer now; and those buying best (quality/customer satisfaction) go for Apple! And very less in between.

 

[Bubba Satori]

It would be a lot higher than that if Apple offered some affordable laptops and desktops.

 

[Nuvi]

It requires some serious conviction to call 5% surging... Come on now, if some one calls reaching 5% surging then I wouldn't want to know what having 95% of the market share means...

 

[AidenShaw]

I doubt sales of Windows laptops have stalled much prior to Windows 7's release as Microsoft and all major oems run the Windows upgrade program (buy a pc now and get Windows 7 once released) to stop computer sales dropping.

Certainly possible. That's why next quarter's sales will be interesting.

Note also that a big part of Microsoft's lackluster sales last quarter is that the income from all of those "Win7 upgrade" OEM sales will be recorded this quarter (the results announced in January).

In January, Microsoft will probably show a huge increase in sales for this quarter. (Much of it smoke-and-mirrors due to the accounting, but huge nonetheless.)

 

[ericinboston]

Surges?

"surges"? are you kidding me that this word is being used to describe something that moves from 3.8% to 5%? Yeah, it might be a 26% overall increase (roughly comparing 3.8 to 5) but that's like saying you're jumping for joy because you paid 3.8 cents in tax instead of 5 cents on your dollar-priced candy bar.

What a joke.

I'm all for Apple but these numbers are ridiculously low to use the word "surge".

 

[Stately]

The same thing we do eevvveryday Pinky . . . try to take over the world.

 

[piz]

You also can calculate market share in another way.

From the population of 61 million are only 20-25 million possible customers, since the other are

• too young or too old
• anyway do not need a own computer

If at average 20-25 million customers buy a computer every 5 years, there is market of 4-5 million a year. With given sales of round 700000 a year Apple market share is more likely at 15%-20%.

 

[Bafflefish]

Also, The Mac or Macintosh was never meant to be for everyone - it was for the crazy ones, the ones that want to change their lives, and the world. The artists, the avant garde. Now sure it wants to appeal to more users..

Because the people who design, build and operate Linux/Unix/Windows-based medical systems, scientific research platforms, super computers, etc., aren't changing the world or making it better?

 

[Bafflefish]

Note also that a big part of Microsoft's lackluster sales last quarter is that the income from all of those "Win7 upgrade" OEM sales will be recorded this quarter (the results announced in January).

In January, Microsoft will probably show a huge increase in sales for this quarter. (Much of it smoke-and-mirrors due to the accounting, but huge nonetheless.)

Well, didn't they already release numbers showing that adoption rate was something like 200% over that of Vista? Admittedly, it was Vista, so that's not saying much, lol. I think I read though that while the adoption rate was up so much, the actual revenue was "only" up something like 70-80% over Vista (with the discrepancy due to greater discount programs this time).

 

[LukeHarrison]

Yes! Never mind New Yorks seventeen apple stores give us one!

That would be great, for two reasons.

1. York is a very affluent area (a drive through Fulford (the village/town that you pass through on the way into York itself) will tell you that).

2. It's just a thirty minute bus journey away from me, so I could apply for a job there

 

[lewchenko]

I echo others comments... the journalist who wrote this article has comprehension issues ! The word surge has been abused here. Perhaps Acer 'Surged', but Apple's 1.2% increase is 'mildly better than stagnation'

You have to remember that in the early 90's wasnt Apples market share about 8%...

And as for the UK... its common knowledge (I live here) that when the introduced the last iMac update (not this recent one, but the one before with the 120 and 130 Geforce GPUS in them) that they upped the prices significantly and blamed the £/$ rates. At the time it added > £350 to the top end iMac. After this even I stopped buying Macs... simply too expensive by magnitudes now.

Their only competitive products in the UK are their laptops, and I hate to say it, but I recently compared a Sony Vaio to a Macbook pro 13" and the new Vaio SR 51M/W came out on top for both spec, price (OS was a tie.. W7 v OSX these days)

The only reason Apple has not stagnated in the UK is due to their retail store presence... thats all.

 

[RebootD]

When it 'surges' into say the 25% realm then I will share the enthusiasm.

 

[BongoBanger]

This is something I've never understood. Microsoft isn't a competitor to Apple... HP is. Dell is. Acer is. Microsoft just sells an operating System. Realistically, if Microsoft really wanted an effective strategy, they should advertise to Apple users saying something along the lines of "buy windows for your Mac so you don't have to re-buy your software!" "buy windows for your mac for your business applications!".
Microsoft shouldn't care if Acer or Apple are No.1 as long as the computer is running some version of Windows.

That would really piss off their OEM partners though.

Besides, people do it anyway without any encouragement.

 

[gnasher729]

You also can calculate market share in another way.

From the population of 61 million are only 20-25 million possible customers, since the other are

• too young or too old
• anyway do not need a own computer

If at average 20-25 million customers buy a computer every 5 years, there is market of 4-5 million a year. With given sales of round 700000 a year Apple market share is more likely at 15%-20%.

Please look at the chart in the article. 3.299 million computers sold in the last quarter, 165,000 of those are Macs. Apple's share of those computers is quite precisely 5 percent. If you try to turn this into 15% to 20% using some fuzzy maths, you are only lying to yourself.

However, these numbers are units. One computer = one unit. Whether it is a netbook are an eight core MacPro, one computer = one unit. Apple doesn't sell into the cheap, low-quality market and it doesn't sell to the Netbook market, so Apple's average selling price is much higher, and therefore Apple's share of the computer sales revenue is much higher than 5%. The picture gets much worse for everyone else when you look at the bottom line. In Q3 2009 (Apple's 4th quarter), Acer's total profit was about $105m, while Apple's was $1670m (world wide). So Acer sells four times as many computers, but Apple makes 16 times more money.

We don't have any numbers how much profit Apple made in the UK, but if we assume that the percentage of the total profit is the same as the percentage of Mac sales compared to the worldwide results, then we can calculate that Apple made almost as much profit in the UK as Acer made in the whole world.

 

[gnasher729]

Apple has 0 stores and 0 advertisement in many European countries - Britain being one exception. Hopefully they will start investing in stores and advertisement throughout Europe soon. Before that, we will not be seeing any impressive European market share numbers.

If you follow the link in the article, you will find that Apple had 5.0% market share in Britain, but to be in the top five of Europe, France and Germany, you needed 5.8%, 5.7% and 6.9% of all sales. So we don't know at all what Apple's share in these regions is, we only know it is less than 5.8%, 5.7% and 6.9%. For all we know, Apple could have a higher market share than the 5.0% of Apple UK in all these regions.

 

[OllyW]

They sell commodity hardware with razor thin margins. Their profits are very limited.

Not so. Acer have just announced record third quarter results.

Very impressive results from Apple in the UK though. The last two quarters are the only time they have ever featured in the UK top 5.

 

[AidenShaw]

So Acer sells four times as many computers, but Apple makes 16 times more money.

As long as everyone remembers that computers are only a portion of Apple's sales, so you can't make simple statements about the health of Apple's computer business based on the revenue figures alone.... (I can't find any breakdown of the split - Apple seems to combine gadget vs computer income.)

 

[weckart]

I may have to go into PC World and see how there getting on, i would really like to play around with a mac before i bought it

. Useful information... Thanks

Quite a few of the PCWorlds I have visited secure their laptops with kensington locks. Since the Macbooks are thinner than average, the lock lifts them off the tables. With the thin aluminium frame on the left side, virtually every Macbook I have seen has a huge crease around the lock caused by buckling due to the soft metal sagging whenever anyone places his palms on the palmrest to start typing. Apple should have spaced out those ports instead of cramming them all along one side and right next to each other.

It does not make a good impression and I am sure this will be costing PCW Apple sales.

 

[buckyballs]

The reason that Apple sell as many computers in the UK as they do in the US is purely down to pricing. Apple products are MUCH more expensive in the UK than they are in the US. For example, the new Macbook is £799 ($1324) in the UK, and $999 (£602) in the US

This is for two reasons:

a) We have higher import taxes
b) Apple raise the prices, like many other companies do for the UK market, because enough people will pay the prices to make it more profitable that way. It therefore means their profit margins are much higher in the UK.

This is the reason that Apple are doing so well out of the British students is because students get a discount, which makes Apple more competitive, but is still around £700 ($1160), which is still much more than the US pay without a discount.

 

[weckart]

The reason that Apple sell as many computers in the UK as they do in the US is purely down to pricing. Apple products are MUCH more expensive in the UK than they are in the US. For example, the new Macbook is £799 ($1324) in the UK, and $999 (£602) in the US

This is for two reasons:

a) We have higher import taxes
b) Apple raise the prices, like many other companies do for the UK market, because enough people will pay the prices to make it more profitable that way. It therefore means their profit margins are much higher in the UK.

This is the reason that Apple are doing so well out of the British students is because students get a discount, which makes Apple more competitive, but is still around £700 ($1160), which is still much more than the US pay without a discount.

There are no import taxes on computers or software. No idea why people think that there is. We only pay sales tax which is twice as high in the UK as it typically is in the US, but that does not even begin to explain the pricing discrepancy.

Doing business in Europe is a tad more expensive than in the US because of more stringent consumer protection laws. However, if Apple prides itself on providing high quality products consistently, then this cost difference will be marginal as only poorer quality products get returned in huge numbers either for reasons of poor manufacturing or perceived value.

The bulk of the price differential is simply down to the fact that Apple can.

 

[mr.steevo]

I guess when you are at the bottom there is nowhere to go but up.

s.

 

[gnasher729]

As long as everyone remembers that computers are only a portion of Apple's sales, so you can't make simple statements about the health of Apple's computer business based on the revenue figures alone.... (I can't find any breakdown of the split - Apple seems to combine gadget vs computer income.)

To make it simple, split Apple's 1600 million profit into 500 (Macs), 500 (iPods), 500 (iPhones) and 100 (iTMS, AppleTV etc. etc. etc.). That's 5 times more money from computers than Acer makes in total.

 

[AidenShaw]

simple, but nonsensical

To make it simple, split Apple's 1600 million profit into 500 (Macs), 500 (iPods), 500 (iPhones) and 100 (iTMS, AppleTV etc. etc. etc.). That's 5 times more money from computers than Acer makes in total.

Do you have any basis on which to assume that "simple" split?

If not, the only answer is "we don't know".

 

[Stella]

The writing is on the wall.

Look at MS' sliding stock over the past few years, drop in market share, lousy quarters, losing control of the Premium market, their lousy brand image (bargain bin), and Ballmer's public statements (most of which included Apple) over the past year.

Draw your own conclusions. The evidence is really piling up.

People who are predicting microsoft demise are out to lunch and not in touch with reality. microsoft will still be around in 10 years time. They are going nowhere - the user base is huge and aren't going to suddenly migrate to Apple or Linux / other over night or any time soon. Simply: there is no alternative to microsoft for the businesses or home user. One problem is that Apple's public image is 'expensive'.

As it stands, Apple is not mass market. For the average person, a $499 PC with windows is good enough. For Apple to become dominant, their pricing needs to appeal to the average user. For microsoft to loss 30%+ marketshare requires an alternative for the common person.

Today, Apple is not the alternative, neither is Linux or anything else, therefore microsoft will retain its lead.

microsoft aren't going anywhere whilst they command a huge marketshare / user base.

I would really to see an accelerated Apple growth, especially in corporations: I loath having to use windows on a daily basis, even if OSX is better suited at my job than windows.