N.Z. market still ‘buoyant’

Press, 18 February 1986, Page 33

N.Z. market still ‘buoyant’

The drop in demand for microcomputers overseas is not expected to be reflected in the New Zealand market until next year, says the Wellington market research company, Arthur Hoby and Associates, Ltd. Hoby’s annual survey of the New Zealand business, microcomputer market, released last month, says the market remains volatile and buoyant with high growth rates predicted to continue this year.

“1987, however, is expected to see a similar levelling off of growth rates as that already experienced in the inter-

national scene,” The survey estimates that the number of microcomputers in New Zealand businesses this year will almost double — with an 81 per cent increase over the number installed at the end of 1985. Only personal computer systems selling for more than $3OOO were considered in the survey. Hoby estimates that nearly 14,000 of these systems were sold in 1985, contributing to a total of nearly 30,000 systems installed. In total they have an original installed value of nearly $3OO million. The most popular

microcomputer applications are accounting, word processing and spreadsheets.

More than half of the systems sold are standalone, single-user systems. Multi-user systems account for 17 per cent of those sold and 16 per cent are used in microcomputer networks. “The introduction of new suppliers to the marketplace over the last 18 months, notably A.T. and T. and 1.T.T., has contributed to the already strong competitive flavour of the market, and resulting pricing pressures have been felt by vendors

across the board,” says Hoby. “Hardware costs will continue to decrease as competition for market share becomes more acute. “Rationalisation in the reseller sector has increased with most dealers experiencing a very lean year. The last 12 months has seen more business failures, and those who are managing to survive are recording very low profit margins. This trend is unlikely to reverse throughout the coming year, with increased pricing pressures further reducing dealer margins,” Hoby predicts.