PC sales in Switzerland pass one million mark

Sales of personal computers in Switzerland passed the one million mark for the first time last year - an increase of nearly 15 per cent over 1998, according to a public consultancy firm.

Sales of personal computers in Switzerland passed the one million mark for the first time last year – an increase of nearly 15 per cent over 1998, according to a public consultancy firm.

Figures released by the Zurich-based Robert Weiss Consulting showed that 1,033,000 PCs were sold in Switzerland last year.

However, in percentage terms sales did not perform as well as compared to the period between 1997 and 1998, when the market grew by a fifth.

The value of PC sales reached SFr3,130 billion in 1999, a two per cent rise over the year before. The reason turnover did not increase as the same rate as unit sales was because of falling prices.

PC prices fell across the board, with industry benefiting most from the drop. Businesses paid an average of SFr2680 per unit, a fall of 8,5 per cent compared to 1998.

Prices of PCs for home use fell by 7.1 per cent, with each machine costing an average of SFr1950.

From staff and wire reports