-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- smt007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueBox Build
One trend is to add box build and final assembly to your product offering. In this issue, we explore the opportunities and risks of adding system assembly to your service portfolio.
IPC APEX EXPO 2024 Pre-show
This month’s issue devotes its pages to a comprehensive preview of the IPC APEX EXPO 2024 event. Whether your role is technical or business, if you're new-to-the-industry or seasoned veteran, you'll find value throughout this program.
Boost Your Sales
Every part of your business can be evaluated as a process, including your sales funnel. Optimizing your selling process requires a coordinated effort between marketing and sales. In this issue, industry experts in marketing and sales offer their best advice on how to boost your sales efforts.
- Articles
- Columns
Search Console
- Links
- Events
||| MENU - smt007 Magazine
Sharp to Acquire Toshiba PC Business and Help Foxconn Diversify
June 8, 2018 | TrendForceEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
Sharp is acquiring Toshiba’s personal computer business, bringing new dynamics to the notebook market. Sharp has shuttered its own PC business previously, but this deal may be associated with the strategic development of Foxconn Technology Group, says WitsView, a division of TrendForce. The expansion to notebook markets is in line with Foxconn Group’s internet and industrial-focused vision, and will allow Foxconn Group to cut into the ecosystem of notebook OEM.
Regarding Toshiba’s performance in the notebook market, its shipments once reached 17.5 million units in 2011, with a market share of 8.8%. Unfortunately, with the saturation of notebook market, Toshiba lost the price competition to rivals. Its shipments fell to less than 1 million units in 2017, and the market share dropped to 0.6%. However, as an established Japanese brand, Toshiba still occupies a place in commercial and European markets despite of its decreasing shipments. Its reputation of high-quality may be part of Sharp's motive for this deal.
In fact, Sharp used to be inactive in the notebook market, so the acquisition this time is likely to be related to Foxconn Group’s strategic deployment, says WitsView. Foxconn Group has previously listed its subsidiary, Foxconn Industrial Internet Co. Ltd (FII), highlighting the group’s ambition in Internet-focused businesses. The integration with traditional notebook industry may not be very innovative, but as 5G is about to flip the internet world, the deal may trigger potential changes in the market.
In terms of business expansion, Foxconn Group has not been very outstanding in the notebook OEM industry. In 2017, its OEM orders for notebook recorded about 4.69 million units, which accounted for only 2.8% of the notebook OEM orders worldwide. In the past, Foxconn Group’s notebook OEM orders came only from Apple, so it remained difficult for the amount of orders to grow. After integrating the brands of Sharp and Toshiba in the future, it would be a shortcut for Foxconn Group to expand its notebook OEM business.
On the other hand, Sharp’s TV business staged outstanding shipment performance in 2017 with the support from Foxconn Group, so it is worth noticing whether the situation will be the same for Toshiba after being acquired. According to WitsView, Foxconn Group currently has flexible production capacity of panels with Sharp’s fab in Guishan and Innolux’s fab in Tainan, etc. However, it is not easy to rebuild the brand in notebook market by only leveraging panel resources, because a notebook panels account for only 10~15% of the costs of entire notebooks, which is much lower than TV panels that account for 60~70% of the costs of the entire TV. In addition, Foxconn Group has relatively limited resources in the supply of other key components of notebook, including CPUs, memory, solid-state drive, and traditional hard disks. Therefore, there are still many challenges in terms of costs if Foxconn Group plans to copy the model in TV manufacturing to notebooks.
About TrendForce
TrendForce is a global provider of the latest development, insight, and analysis of the technology industry. Having served businesses for over a decade, the company has built up a strong membership base of 435,000 subscribers. TrendForce has established a reputation as an organization that offers insightful and accurate analysis of the technology industry through five major research divisions: DRAMeXchange, WitsView, LEDinside, EnergyTrend and Topology. Founded in Taipei, Taiwan in 2000, TrendForce has extended its presence in China since 2004 with offices in Shenzhen and Beijing.
Suggested Items
IDTechEx Examines the Opportunities for Wearables in Digital Health
04/19/2024 | IDTechExIDTechEx’s report, “Digital Health and Artificial Intelligence 2024-2034: Trends, Opportunities, and Outlook”, covers this ongoing trend in the consumer health wearables market and includes analysis of the opportunities and roadmap for biometric monitoring.
Real Time with... IPC APEX EXPO 2024: Pluritec's Expansion and Growth in the North American Market
04/19/2024 | Real Time with...IPC APEX EXPONicola Doria, president of Pluritec, discusses the company's strategic focus on the North American market, their investment in a new sales organization, service expansion, and a new process integration line. The conversation also covers market response and future installations, as well as Pluritec's new partnership with IEC.
Mycronic Releases Interim Report January–March 2024
04/18/2024 | MycronicNet sales increased 39 percent to SEK 1,692 (1,219) million. Based on constant exchange rates, net sales increased 42 percent.
Real Time with... IPC APEX EXPO 2024: Exploring Silicone Solutions with R&D Director of CHT
04/17/2024 | Real Time with...IPC APEX EXPOIn this interview, Gerry Ellis, the R&D director for CHT, discusses the product range offered by his company. He explains the challenges in creating base formulations, the drive to make products more user-friendly, and the various application techniques involved. Ellis also highlights the key market segments and the significance of providing efficient solutions to customers.
Gartner Forecasts Worldwide IT Spending to Grow 8% in 2024
04/17/2024 | Gartner, Inc.Worldwide IT spending is expected to total $5.06 trillion in 2024, an increase of 8% from 2023, according to the latest forecast by Gartner, Inc. This is an increase from the previous quarter’s forecast of 6.8% growth and puts worldwide IT spending on track to surpass $8 trillion well before the end of the decade.