Laptop sales resume growth in Q3

The Romanian laptop market showed the first signs of revival in the third quarter of the year compared with the first half of the year, with the sales rise likely to continue into December, according to PC manufacturers. "The third quarter was definitely our best quarter. We sold 15,000 units. The start of a new school and university year has generated a rise for the overall IT sector," Ciprian Donciu, country manager of Asus, told ZF. Notebook sales will also rise in the fourth quarter against the third, says Aurel Netin, Country Manager of Lenovo, citing a report of research firm IDC. "The fourth quarter will perform at least similarly well to the third one. Sales started to see a rebound. We noticed rises for all our partners," says Bogdan Iftemie, manager of the sales department of Acer. Despite the sales revival, producers say it will not be possible to make up for the sales collapse in the first half of the year. However, players in the sector say this year's overall sales will be much lower than last year's. For instance, the head of Asus Romania puts the Romanian laptop market at 300,000 units, compared with almost 500,000 last year.