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Market Analysis

Dell Retakes Second Rank in Global PC Market as Acer Stumbles

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According to iSuppli Corp.’s market intelligence, nine months after losing its customary No. 2 rank in the global PC market, U.S. OEM Dell Inc. retook the runner-up position in the second quarter of 2010 as Taiwanese rival Acer Inc. suffered a sales setback during the period.

Dell in the second quarter shipped 10.5 million units worldwide, down a negligible 1.2 percent from 10.7 million units in the first quarter. This gave Dell a 12.8 percent share of global shipments, down from 13.1 percent in the first quarter.

However, Acer experienced a 6.2 percent shipment decline in the second quarter, with its shipments falling to 10.2 million units, down from 10.9 million in the first quarter. As a result, Acer’s share declined to 12.4 percent, down from 13.3 percent in the first quarter, consumer electronics research from iSuppli indicates.

Acer’s decline was notable given the global PC market’s 1.1 sequential rise in the second quarter, with shipments amounting to 82.5 million units, up from 81.6 million in the first quarter.

“With its product line heavily focused on mobile PCs, Acer’s sequential decline in notebook shipments impacted its position at the total PC level more than its competitors, which were able to draw on the upswing in desktop shipments to bolster their total shipments,” said Matthew Wilkins, Principal Analyst (Compute Platforms) for iSuppli.

iSuppli’s computer comparisons show, U.S.-based Dell perennially had occupied the No. 2 position in the global PC market behind fellow American PC maker Hewlett-Packard Co.

Dell’s share of the global PC market had been steadily declining since the second quarter of 2008, when the company accounted for 16 percent of worldwide shipments and held a 6.5 percentage point lead over Acer.

However, by the third quarter of 2009, Dell’s share had dwindled to 12.9 percent, allowing Acer to slip past and take the world’s No. 2 position.

“The second-quarter results show the market-share battle between Dell and Acer is not over and that it will continue to rage,” Wilkins said.

While shipments declined sequentially for Dell and Acer in the second quarter, both companies achieved robust growth compared to the same period in 2009. Dell’s shipments rose 16.7 percent from a year earlier, while Acer’s soared by 24.2 percent, as the overall market expanded by 22.8 percent.

Acer’s strong performance relative to the second quarter of 2009 was driven by the expanding sales of notebooks, which accounted for about 80 percent of the company’s total PC shipments in the second quarter, according to iSuppli notebook research. In contrast, Dell appears to be benefitting on a rebound of corporate demand for desktop PCs and entry-level servers.

The benefits extended as well to other OEMs whose PC shipments include a somewhat equal mix of desktops and notebooks. Desktop PC shipments among the Top 5 desktop PC OEMs grew in the region of 12 to 15 percent.

iSuppli’s latest worldwide PC forecast calls for unit shipment growth of 15 percent in 2010. The second quarter marked HP’s 16th consecutive quarter as the No. 1 worldwide PC brand, with a market share of 18.1 percent.

For their part, the Top 5 Asian OEMs all delivered strongly, with great performances equaling or surpassing 24 percent year-over growth rates. Lenovo led the Asian OEMs, growing its PC shipments by 47.5 percent from the second quarter of 2009, resulting in a market share increase of 1.7 percent year-over-year.

Market Analysis

Wholesale Flea Market Goods: Pick Your Specialty

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When you are contemplating on entering into the flea market business, it is highly recommended that you should put your money in those wholesale flea market goods where even you hold an interest in. Until and unless you are interested in a specific product you will not be able to do full justice to the business you have intended to grow manifold. Therefore, first and foremost identify your area of interest and then pick the flea market goods pertaining to your interest and then go on to resell them in order to make hefty profits for the margins that one could earn while selling wholesale flea market merchandise are pretty awesome.

When you identify your niche product after one or two wholesale purchases, you would slowly develop an identity of your own for the product and you will not miss out on the clientele. Even the fellow vendors will direct customers towards your direction and when you extend superior customer service, they in turn would suggest people to your flea market booth. Probably when you start out with your wholesale flea market merchandise you would not be aware as to what is going to be your favorite product. You will be able to identify the same after a few days or after a few wholesale purchases of the flea market products.

You could still be intelligent when you take a round around the flea market and identify what people are on the lookout for more rather than other items. When you host such wholesale flea market goods, you definitely will be able to have an upper hand when compared to other vendors and at the same time have your major share of profits too.

Most of the wholesale flea market supplies come along with minimum order requirement. So, obviously you cannot purchase a single item. You will have to buy according to the lots that are put up by the wholesale flea market merchandise vendor. But when you invest in wholesale, you can have it assured that your profits too are going to be high.

Indeed it takes a bit of understanding too to get a hold of the buying and selling processes in wholesale flea market supplies. Very often the hottest of items come at incredibly cheap prices and the most basic of products are costly owing to the demand. You could work out a perfect combination of the costly as well as the cheap supplies and strike a balance.

Market Analysis

Skip the Mistakes and Win Big With Market Samurai

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If you aren’t having much luck in your marketing on Market Samurai, there are steps that you can follow to increase your success. It is very easy to make mistakes that could cause your marketing campaign to fail, and you never realize that you made them. You must be very careful not to make the mistakes that will be listed out in this article if you want to have true success at Marketing on Market Samurai.

One of the most common problems people have when they use Market Samurai to begin marketing a product is having an exaggerated opinion of themselves. The other thing that people have to learn is that not every person who sees their marketing campaign even cares about what the business is about. Your prospects don’t really think about “you” but they inherently think about “themselves”. And no matter what you create, even if it’s the world’s best hair care product which cures male pattern baldness, they won’t care until you offer them something. All people want to know is what they’re going to get out of the deal. So, when you are producing your Tweets, remember to keep in mind the thought process of your clients and what they are thinking about…themselves! You should have no problems once you figure out how to answer that question and figure out how to get that across to your customer.

Another major problem that Market Samurai marketers run into is not giving enough information about their product. If a person cannot figure out what you are selling or what you are doing, then they will ignore you! You have to include a bio that will capture their attention and include a photo of yourself. The first interaction you have with your prospect shouldn’t go in vain just because they couldn’t make you out. Obviously, you should exhibit a sense of humor and whimsy. Many people that advertise on Market Samurai take themselves far too seriously, and lose prospects as a result. The whole point of being on Market Samurai is to be urbane and witty. They might be seeking a break from a hectic day, so you want to help them with that. Write your tweets with some spice and add a little humor if it is appropriate. As they become more familiar with who you are, they will begin to care more about the product that you represent. You want to give a picture of life to your advertising on Market Samurai.

You are not a big corporation, so don’t make the common mistake of using your company logo on your Market Samurai page. When you use Market Samurai, you need to project your humanity. You want to encourage them to identify with you, and the best way to do that is to be you, not just your brand. Your product or service will be better served if your followers feel that they have a personal stake in how successful you become. What it all comes down to is giving your potential customers the feeling that you aren’t just there to sell them something, and that if they do choose to buy from you, they would be working with another person, not a computer. But be careful not to overdo your identity and appear snobbish. No, don’t do that mistake on Market Samurai; it’ll cost you your reputation. Market Samurai, just like any other site is about social networking, and it is a great platform to launch a new ad campaign and stay in touch with your clientele. Interact with other Market Samuraiers here, connect with them and talk without having a promotional tone. Listen to your prospects, and try to help them with the problems they may have. As crazy as it may sound, the best way to market on Market Samurai is to make it look like the other way round.

Market Analysis

Optical Telecom Gear Market Finally Recovers from Dot-Com Bust

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According to market research firm iSuppli Corp., ten years after the Internet bubble burst and took the global telecommunications business down with it, the market for optical telecom network equipment finally has commenced a sustained recovery.

Worldwide optical telecom network equipment revenue will amount to $13.5 billion in 2010, up 7.7 percent from $12.5 billion in 2009. Revenue will continue to rise during the next four year’s until it reaches $22.1 billion in 2014, the highest total since the market peak of $24.95 billion in 2000. While revenue briefly spiked in 2006 and 2007, the rise was not sustainable, with the market shrinking to depressed levels again in 2008 and 2009, as presented in Figure 1 attached.

“During the final stages of the Dot-Com bubble in 2000, when everyone was sure that the boom would last forever, network operators sank billions into infrastructure equipment and fiber,” said Lee Ratliff, Senior Analyst (Broadband and Digital Home) for iSuppli. “However, when the boom went bust, that fiber was left idle—becoming so called ‘dark fiber’—with much of it remaining unused for a decade. However, with the continued growth of the Internet, the industry finally has absorbed the excess capacity, lighting up the vast excess dark fiber from the bubble, and prompting companies to invest in upgraded optical equipment.”

The new Internet boom

The revival of optical networking is being fueled by the continued expansion of the Internet. “While the heady days of the Dot-Com era are gone forever, the Internet is still expanding at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of around 45 percent,” Ratliff noted. “Major factors driving the Internet’s growth include the explosion of high-bandwidth video traffic, peer-to-peer traffic, the rapid expansion of China’s broadband market and the deployment of Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) systems.”

The ever-expanding demand for bandwidth is prompting optics in existing fiber networks to be upgraded to higher speeds. Telcos also are increasing their deployment of Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM), a technology that increases the speed of existing fiber.

Furthermore, new fiber is being installed at rapid rate. Major civil engineering projects including the East Africa Submarine Cable System (EASSy) are helping to promote growth.

China boom

In April, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), together with sixother ministries, announced a plan to provides tax incentives and financial subsidies for domestic fiber broadband equipment, optical chip and optical module manufacturers.

Driven by this stimulus, broadband Internet subscribers in China are set to rise to 242.7 million in 2014, up from 132.5 million in 2008, according to iSuppli’s China Research service. Along with such an increase, China’s telcos will double their spending on passive optical network equipment from 2010 to 2014.

Optical semiconductors and MEMS recover

After nearly a decade of stagnation, revenue from semiconductors used in optical networks also is finally is set to begin a multiyear expansion in 2010. Optical network semiconductor revenue is projected to expand to $3.6 billion in 2014, up from $2.1 billion in 2010.

Within this semiconductor segment, the market for optical MEMS for telecom equipment is expected to enjoy a renaissance.

“As deployment of (FTTH) surges, there’s a need to build up metro and long-haul networks to accommodate faster data rates,” said Jérémie Bouchaud, director and principal analyst for MEMS research at iSuppli. “This will have a positive impact on sales of optical MEMS used in metro and long-haul optical telecommunications gear.”

Wavelength-Selective Switching Reconfigurable Optical Add/Drop Multiplexers (WSS ROADMs), devices that enhance the agility of optical networks, are expected to be the fast-growing portion of the optical telecom MEMS market.

Furthermore, MEMS are experiencing rapid growth as Variable Optical Attenuators (VOAs), and are taking share from competing devices. Chinese players like O-NET are rapidly adopting MEMS for their VOAs. As a result, unit shipments of MEMS VOAs will grow by 78 percent in 2010.

Other attractive areas for MEMS in optical networks include Variable Optical Attenuators (VOAs), tunable filters, cross connects and 1XN switches.

Market Analysis

Knowledge For Success in The Futures Market

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Whether its the stock market, futures market, or any other trading venue, it takes a lot of knowledge and understanding to become an elite trader or investor.

Many years of learning successful strategies, methods, techniques, and correct trading principles will have a cumulative effect in shaping a great trader or investor. In this article, we will explore some important aspects of what it takes to be successful trading the futures market, in other words, the commodities market.

If you acquire the skill of proper chart reading, and are able to interpret chart patterns at a high level, your rewards will be substantial. Never underestimate the importance of technical analysis.

Patience is a key element for trading success. You need to wait until as many factors as possible are in your favor, before taking a position in the market. This is your edge. I will not take a position until the odds are strongly in my favor.

Money management is absolutely crucial to successful trading or investing. There is nothing more important then keeping all losses small. You must cut your losses short. A great way to do this is by implementing the proper use of stops. Always predetermine the maximum loss you will take before entering a trade. This is a must in the futures market.

One of my favorite strategies is watching a long and narrow price consolidation, and then trading it once you see a bonafide breakout. As an example, lets say cocoa stays in a price range of 1350-1400 for 3 months. I would go long on a close of over 1400. I would sell short on a close of under 1350.

Another important aspect of successful trading or investing is to accurately identify the trend of the market you are interested in. You can use a weekly chart for the long term trend and a daily chart for entering or exiting a position. If you can properly analyze trends, you will make money in the futures market.