While laptop sales fell by 11.5%, the share of Chinese brands rose to 40%

In January-May, sales of laptops in Russia decreased by 11.5% year-on-year in units and by 25% in money terms, to 1.26 million devices and 70.8 billion rubles. accordingly, retailers say, noting a significant drop in sales, in particular Asus, Acer, HP and Dell. At the same time, the share of Chinese brands in pieces increased from 30% to 40%, and Taiwanese MSI, which occupied 21% of the market, also increases sales. Experts say that Asus, Lenovo and Acer are looking for ways to resume official deliveries to Russia.

From January to May, 1.26 million laptops were sold in Russia, which is 11.5% less than the same period last year, Holodilnik.ru told Kommersant. In money terms, the year-on-year drop was 25%, to 70.8 billion rubles. M.Video-Eldorado gives similar estimates for the current market volumes: according to the retailer, it amounted to about 1.3 million units in the first half of the year.

Alexey Pogudalov, commercial director of Holodilnik.ru, notes structural changes in the list of brands present on the Russian market. Asus, Lenovo and Acer continue to supply the country through parallel import channels, producing products adapted for Russia, but the lack of support affected their share: Lenovo had a 47% drop in units, Asus – 52%, Acer – 52%, the top manager lists, adding that the share of American manufacturers Apple, HP and Dell has decreased by almost 80% due to their departure from the Russian market.

At the same time, the overall share of Chinese brands continues to grow, M.Video-Eldorado says. “In six months, it increased in quantitative terms to 40% against 30% a year earlier,” the retailer’s representative notes, naming devices from Huawei, Haier, Thunderobot, etc. among the popular laptops in his network.

In addition to Chinese brands, the presence of Taiwanese equipment is growing on the Russian market. Thus, Holodilnik.ru notes that the share of Taiwanese MSI increased more than five times over the year. The brand occupied 21% of the market in pieces for January-May. Such assessments are agreed in the F + tech | Marvel”: business analyst of the company Artur Makhlayuk also confirmed the leadership of MSI. According to him, the share of the brand in pieces increased from 3.9% in the first half of 2022 to 23.3% this year. MSI did not respond to Kommersant’s request.

Pen & Paper senior partner Anton Imennov believes that the Taiwanese company is at risk of falling under EU and US sanctions due to the supply of its devices to Russia.

The lawyer notes that US sanctions apply not only to goods produced by American persons, but also to those in which 25% or more use American components and technologies. “Even if MSI products do not have such components, like other exporters, it is at risk of secondary sanctions. In particular, American and European sanctions, among other things, imply the possibility of holding a person accountable for interacting with sanctioned persons, assisting in circumventing sanctions and supporting the Russian authorities,” says Mr. Imenov.

In F+ tech | Marvel” believe that American companies do not intend to officially return to the Russian Federation, but Asian ones, such as Acer, Lenovo, Asus, etc., are ready to resume business in the country and are looking for such opportunities, however, “the adoption of each new package of sanctions complicates the situation.”

Experts believe that by the end of the year, sales of laptops in the Russian market will decrease by 10% in units due to the growth of the dollar, which will affect prices. However, Kommersant’s interlocutor among foreign laptop manufacturers believes that, despite the growth in exchange rates, sales will stabilize – primarily due to sales of cheaper Chinese devices.

Timofey Kornev