Since the beginning of 2024, Taiwanese Asus has become the leader in laptop sales in the Russian Federation

Since the beginning of the year, the Taiwanese laptop brand MSI has lost its sales leadership in the Russian Federation to its compatriot Asus, market participants said. According to their data, MSI’s share decreased by almost half, while Asus, on the contrary, increased its share by about a third, occupying almost 18% of the market. The increased demand for MSI in 2023 is explained by the relatively low cost of devices amid overstocking, while now prices and volumes of goods in warehouses have leveled off, experts say. However, they emphasize, without active promotion by the end of the year, both Taiwanese brands may lose competition to suppliers from mainland China.

Kommersant’s interlocutor on the Russian consumer electronics market, citing data from GFK’s analytical report, said that since the beginning of 2024, Taiwanese Asus has become the leader in laptop sales in the Russian Federation, displacing compatriot MSI from the first position.

According to analysts, in February, a total of 297 thousand laptops were sold in the Russian Federation, which is 9% more year-on-year. Asus’s share was 17.5%, followed by Lenovo with 8.3% and MSI with 7.8%. A year earlier in February, MSI held 13.7%, Asus held 13.3% and Lenovo held 10.1%. In terms of money in February 2024, Asus is also in the lead with 19.4%, followed by Apple with 11.2% and MSI with 10.1%. In general, in monetary terms, in February 2024, laptop sales increased by 27%, to RUB 19 billion.

At the end of 2023, MSI occupied 20% of the market in units, ahead of its closest competitor Asus by six percentage points (see “Kommersant” dated December 21, 2023). In total, 2.9 million laptops were sold in 2023 (15% more than in 2022). In monetary terms, sales increased by 10%, to RUB 180 billion.

Kommersant’s source notes that the decline in MSI sales began in January – the manufacturer’s share was 9.7% versus 14.8% in December 2023.

According to business analyst of the Fplus IT holding Arthur Makhlayuk, from the beginning of 2024 to the end of March, 810 thousand laptops were sold in the Russian Federation, an increase of 10% year-on-year; in monetary terms, the figure increased by 29%, to 53.5 billion rubles. He also confirmed that Asus became the market leader with a share of 18.3% in units, and MSI’s share was almost halved, to 9.5%. Mr. Makhlayuk explained that the growth of the market in terms of money is associated with the increase in prices for electronics, which began in August-September 2023 against the backdrop of instability in exchange rates and an increase in the cost of logistics: “Some of the models that previously cost less than 40 thousand rubles have become more expensive and moved to the next price category.”

MTS notes that in the operator’s retail network, from January to March, laptop sales increased 3.2 times in units and 2 times in money year-on-year. About 90% of sales came from Apple, Huawei and Infinix, but MTS clarified that they do not sell Asus and MSI laptops. According to preliminary data from M.Video-Eldorado for the first quarter, 1.3 million laptops, desktop PCs and all-in-one PCs were sold in the Russian Federation, which is 44% more year-on-year; in monetary terms, sales increased by 63%, to 81 billion rubles. Among the leaders in the retailer are Thunderobot, Asus, MSI, Apple, etc.

Kommersant’s interlocutor among foreign laptop manufacturers clarified that the increase in sales of MSI devices last year was associated with high inventories of the brand’s equipment in the Russian Federation. “After the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, MSI was one of the few vendors who did not freeze supplies to the Russian Federation,” he emphasized.

The Kommersant source added that as parallel import channels were established, there was an excess of MSI in retailers’ warehouses, as a result of which laptops were sold “at reduced prices” (see Kommersant dated February 13, 2023). Now, he says, there is no overstocking and “the cost of MSI devices has leveled off.” Kommersant’s interlocutor explains the demand for Asus by the fact that the company “has a larger line of devices for different price categories.”

According to the founder of the Telegram channel “Surkov on Marketing” Alexander Surkov, by the end of 2024 we should not expect strong growth in laptop sales; they have stabilized: “At the same time, judging by the intensification of marketing activity on the part of Chinese manufacturers Honor and Huawei, they may enter the the first three by the end of the year. Without investments in promotion, Asus and MSI may lose leadership.”

Timofey Kornev