Michael Dell thinks PC makers need to consolidate in order to survive

Few people are as qualified to make predictions about the PC market as Michael Dell, so when he says that the market is going to consolidate even further over the next few years, you can believe him. Speaking at a conference in India earlier this week, the founder and CEO of Dell predicted that the world’s top three global PC manufacturers will take control of around 80% of the PC market over the next 5-7 years through consolidation in order to combat the ever-shrinking PC market. 

The top three global PC makers would be able to raise market share in the next few years through consolidation amid shrinking sales of personal computers, Dell Inc Chief Executive Michael Dell said on Monday. Lenovo Group Ltd tops global PC shipment ranking with a 20.3 percent market share, followed by Hewlett-Packard Co at 18.5 percent and Dell at 14.5 percent, according to research firm International Data Corp. The top three companies could corner about 80 percent of the market in the next 5 to 7 years, Dell said at a roundtable conference with journalists in Bengaluru, India. “In the first half of this year, we outgrew the two in notebooks and we have grown now 10 quarters in a row,” Dell said. IDC last month forecast PC shipments to fall 8.7 percent this year, steeper than its earlier estimate of a 6.2 percent decline, and said they are expected to return to growth in 2017. Once the leader in personal computers sales, Dell, like its peers, has been hit by a rapidly declining PC market as consumers move to smartphones and tablets.