Report: Mac sales hit a slowdown
Apple has been something of a golden child among makers of computers and consumer electronics. But now it, too, is showing at least a hint that the good times can't last forever.
In November, says market researcher NPD Group, sales of the company's Mac products slipped 1 percent from the same month a year ago, even as industrywide PC sales were up 2 percent, according to a report in the online edition of The Wall Street Journal.
The 24-inch Apple iMac.
Apple has been the pacesetter amid overall PC sales for some time. And it does continue to hold those honors, at least in laptop sales during November, the Journal reported. But NPD's numbers showed the company taking a serious hit with its desktop Macs, sales of which fell 35 percent.
Early reports from Black Friday, the traditional sales bump right after Thanksgiving, had indicated that Apple did relatively well--in part because of modest discounts--even among consumer worries about tough economic conditions.
Pricing of Macs versus other computers were likely a key factor in the November decline seen by NPD. The Journal cites Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray, and others on "price sensitivity" among consumers:
Apple rivals like (Hewlett-Packard) and Dell offered discounts weeks earlier than usual this holiday season, dropping some prices by as much as 50 percent. Mr. Munster said since last December, the average Windows PC price is down 35 percent to 45 percent; in contrast, Apple has offered only modest discounts of 5 percent to 10 percent on its PCs, analysts said.
Still, the analysts cited seemed generally upbeat about Apple's sales prospects overall.
Jonathan Skillings is managing editor of CNET News, based in the Boston bureau. He's been with CNET since 2000, after a decade in tech journalism at the IDG News Service, PC Week, and an AS/400 magazine. He's also been a soldier and a schoolteacher. E-mail Jon. 
- all other manufacturers have been discounting heavily (we'll have to see what this does to their margins)
- apple offered slight discounts and have a small fall (especially given the difficult times we are in)
Given the current environment this does seem that apple is doing a very good job, the better analysis for me would be to include days of inventory, product types and gross margins in the mix which would provide a much better basis for comparing the health of companies in the industry as this will reveal pricing flexibility, ability to make model changes and provide a window into the next few months. If someone is selling a boatload of $300 netbooks with a 5%-10% margin and minimal other attach rates vs someone selling systems at an average $1500 with a 25% margin and high attach rate (plus brand loyalty) I would bet on the latter for long term sustainability.
Plus, I sincerely doubt that HP and Dell can continue with fire-sale price slashings (sometimes upwards of 30% or more) - their margins are pretty thin as it is.
My sister just got a new HP laptop from her Hubby. Nice machine with the fake plastic chrome. Wouldn't refuse it if she gave me one for Christmas . . . . but the new aluminum die cut MacBooks are authentic metal through and through. Its the difference between a makeup queen and a woman who is beautiful cause she's well naturally beautiful.
1. How was the decline calculated? Does NPD send people to observe in store? If so, is that 1% decline for same store sales? How about the new Apple stores and Best Buy?
2. Some websites (MacMall, MacConnection) had heavy promotion this year. All Mac websites (appleinsider, macrumors etc) have comparison charts to tell readers where to get the best deal (and it is not from Apple).
There is no bias here except from the comments section. 6 months ago or so when Tom reported NDPs numbers saying that Apples growth was double that of the rest of the PC world, all of the Apple fanboys chimed in to applaud. It's funny to see that now that the numbers aren't so great many people(probably the same who where clapping earlier) are now questioning the numbers. /rant
Apple will be fine though the decline in growth was expected, everyone in the industry has seen it. Personally I wouldn't have expected a decline YOY but it is just one month, their quaterly results will be more telling, Christmas + Macworld = Great Sales. The sky is not falling Apple's profit margins are large enough to keep them in the black.
I'm speaking for the consumer here. Apple runs the risk of losing alot of sales unless they get their prices in the range that consumers are willing to spend and they'll need to drop that rediculous profit margin and offer us, the consumer, better deals on a sale.
- by weeman17 December 16, 2008 2:42 PM PST
- Price seems to be the main issue i have!!!!!!
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