UK spearheads Europe-wide IT sales recovery

Business and consumer technology product sales are up across Europe, according to market research firm Context, and UK distributors are leading the way.

Europe's largest distributors recorded an overall two per cent growth in sales year-on-year in January, but UK distributors alone recorded a 5.4 per cent improvement, leading Germany (four per cent), France (3.3 per cent) and Italy (3.1 per cent) in the continental pecking order.

The poorest performing nations on the continent were the Scandinavian countries, who together recorded a 3.5 per cent drop year on year, and Austria, whose distributors performed 4.4 per cent worse this January than last.

The positive overall result comes after 11 consecutive months of negative growth, the latest sign that the worst is over for the technology market.

“During the past year, we have seen technology distributors affected by the downturn in IT spending for both consumers and businesses alike,” Context co-founder Jeremy Davies said. “Although it is early days, with sales moving into positive growth for January 2010, we could be seeing the beginnings of a recovery in the sector.”

Perhaps surprisingly, desktop computer sales rose by 11 per cent year on year as computer sales in general helped spearhead the return to positive growth. Notebook PC unit sales were up by 12 per cent, but with consumers increasingly favouring budget models and netbooks, notebook revenues rose by just one per cent.

“Coupled with the improvement in sales of servers, indications are that Europe's business

customers could be beginning to implement the long anticipated IT equipment refresh cycle,” Davies commented.

Telecoms was the sector with the healthiest growth, with revenue increasing by 173 per cent year on year. Mobile phone revenues grew by 112 per cent, while smartphone sales performance more than doubled that by recording a 226 per cent growth.

Context tracks 65 of Europe's leading technology distributors across Western Europe.

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