The demand for laptops in the island is satisfied – Newspaper Kommersant No. 30 (7475) of 02/17/2023

The volume of deliveries of laptops to Russia in 2022 decreased by almost 30%, to 3.38 million devices, calculated in GS Group. At the end of the year, suppliers not only imported Huawei and Lenovo devices, but also dramatically increased imports of Taiwanese MSI laptops. The brand’s shipment volumes have grown six times compared to the fourth quarter of 2021, and the company itself has begun advertising in Russian media. MSI is well known to gamers, analysts say. But retailers do not see a general increase in demand for gaming devices.

Kommersant got acquainted with the data of the GS Group analytical center on the supply of laptops to Russia during 2022. They follow that 3.38 million devices were imported into the country during the year, which is 29.6% less than in 2021. Most laptops were delivered to Taiwanese MSI (556 thousand, 16% in pieces), Huawei (428 thousand, 13%) and Lenovo (415 thousand, 12%) from mainland China. The American HP, which in 2021 supplied the most laptops to Russia relative to other brands (1.1 million, 23%), was in fourth place at the end of 2022 with 377 thousand devices (11%).

MSI notebook shipments grew by 511% year-on-year in the fourth quarter. In the last three years they were relatively small, amounting to 7-53 thousand per quarter. However, the volumes began to increase in the third quarter of 2022 – 181 thousand laptops of the brand were imported (33% of all deliveries for the quarter), and in the fourth – already 326 thousand (24%). This is more, for example, than that of Huawei: in the third and fourth quarters, the brand’s suppliers imported 156,000 and 168,000 brand laptops to Russia, respectively. Based on the results of 11 months, MSI accounted for only 11% of the market, and the championship was shared by HP and Lenovo, which occupied 15% each (see “Kommersant” dated December 16, 2022).

MSI positions itself as a brand of high-performance computers for gaming and content creation, and also includes business laptops in its lineup. Unlike many electronics manufacturers, the company has not reported a halt in deliveries to Russia due to hostilities in Ukraine and, as it turns out, even continues to invest in promotion. According to advertising labels, MSI Russia’s subsidiary (MSI Computer LLC) has been ordering materials from Russian publications targeted at gamers since November 2022: Igromania, DTF, Navigator of the Game World.

GS Group statistics also show some recovery in the supply of laptops from Taiwanese Asus (the brand ranked fifth in terms of shipments in 2022, dropping from third in 2021). In the fourth quarter, 159,000 Asus laptops were imported into the Russian Federation, although in the second and third quarters, deliveries decreased to 1,000 and 9,000, respectively. In March, 2022 the company reported that shipments of devices to Russia “actually stopped”. MSI and Asus did not respond to Kommersant’s requests.

M.Video-Eldorado told Kommersant that more than 30% of retail sales of laptops in 2022 came from Chinese brands, and in the third and fourth quarters, the share of these manufacturers in the market reached 40–45%, “the positions of companies from China strengthened both due to the already existing brands, and due to new ones familiar to Russians in other categories of digital technology. A spokesman for the retailer noted that gaming laptops accounted for just over 15% of total sales in 2022, with Chinese brand Thunderobot taking the top spot on the chain itself in the third and fourth quarters. According to GS Group, 36,000 Thunderobot laptops were imported to Russia in 2022 (14th in terms of shipments).

Citilink estimated the share of gaming laptops among all laptop sales in 2022 at 16%, which is “in line with the previous year.” Growth in demand for gaming laptops has not been observed recently, on the contrary, the segment has become a little weaker, clarified Kommersant in the Merlion distributor. “This is due to the availability of gaming graphics cards on the market at reasonable prices,” they noted there.

F+ tech-Marvel Business Analyst Anton Fomin calls MSI the most affordable laptop brand known to the consumer – “its recognition is quite high, especially in the gaming segment.” According to him, it is convenient for suppliers to work with the brand, among other things, because “the manufacturer is ready to work with the Russian market.”

Yuri Litvinenko, Timofey Kornev