Struggling PC manufacturers Vaio, Toshiba and Fujitsu are reportedly in talks for a merger of their PC division. According to Gartner, none of the three companies are among the top five PC vendors worldwide. This combination may result in a PC manufacturing powerhouse that may be able to challenge Lenovo which currently owns 30% of the market share in Japan.
The news on the merger was first reported by Nikkei Asian Review and it believes that the remaining company will be Vaio while the other two are expected to contribute into the newly-formed company. When looking at each of the companies, they seem to have individual strengths that may be vital for them in order to outperform the big names like Asus and Acer.
Toshiba has a bigger presence in North America while Fujitsu has its advantages over in Europe. Vaio still remains the most influential company amongst the three due to having the brand strength it gathered from once being a part of Sony. This may have been one of the decisive points when choosing which company remains. Besides having a high chance of getting more market share, the merger will also contribute in terms of lowering manufacturing costs.
Currently, the PC sales market has dropped significantly and it seems like a wise move by the three companies to merge in order to avoid potential losses when operating individually. It has to be mentioned that there are currently no confirmation on the merger and even if they were to reach an agreement, it would probably only be announced sometime next year.
(Source: Nikkei Asian Review)
