The Microsoft–Nokia Deal: The Real Battle Will Be In Proprietary Services

A recent IDC quarterly report on mobile phones estimates that 237.9 million smartphones shipped worldwide during the last quarter. The market was dominated by Samsung, with 30% share, followed by Apple’s 13% share. LG came in a distant third with 5.1% share, closely followed by Lenovo’s 4.7% share. Finnish phone maker Nokia did not even make it on the leader board.

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Gigamon’s IPO Success

According to an IDC report, the worldwide application performance management software market is projected to grow 13% annually from $2.2 billion in 2012 to more than $3.5 billion by 2016. Another report by Frost & Sullivan expects faster growth. According to the researcher, the industry will see 15% annual growth and be worth $4.5 billion by 2017.

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Jabong Thrives in the Indian e-Commerce Landscape

Recent market reports project the Indian e-commerce market to grow 33% this year to $9.5 billion. Within e-commerce, online travel was the biggest-selling segment, with a 47% market share, followed by sale of apparel and footwear, which accounted for 20% of the market. Books came a close third with a 19% market share, and mobile phones and accessories commanded a 17% market share. Another report estimates the market to grow to $76 billion by 2021.

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Dell’s Ownership Battles Continue as Asia Pacific Presence Expands

IDC’s recent quarterly PC shipment report reveals that the market fell 11.4% over the year to 75.6 million units as tablets continue to eat into the market share. During the quarter, Lenovo surpassed HP to become the market leader with 12.62 million units, or 16.7% market share. HP came in a close second with 12.38 million units or 16.4% market share. Dell maintained its position in the third spot with 9.23 million units, commanding 12.2% market share and recording a decline of 4.2% over the year. There was some good news for Dell, which saw shipments in the U.S. grow 3.8%, the first time it grew since 2011. Other regions did not show much promise.
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Shutterfly Responds to Increased Demand for Custom Products

According to a recent report by IbisWorld, sales of traditional greeting cards in the country fell 60% over the past ten years to $5.4 billion in 2012. The decline in printed greeting cards has been driven by an increase of the use of online cards and sales of electronic cards, including custom-printed ones. Sales of such cards has grown from $65 million in 2002 to $3.5 billion in 2012. The researcher also found an increased use of hybrid e-cards that are created using photographs from a consumer’s smartphones and sent via post.

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Fusion-io Continues to Stumble

Not only did big names like Facebook, Groupon, and Zynga fare badly when they released their IPOs last year, but few other product-based technology companies have also seen a similar downfall since listing. Data storage, and server acceleration services provider, Fusion-io’s (NYSE: FIO) IPO did not do much better. After putting the stock up for sale at $19 a share and seeing it grow 108% on the opening day, the company has seen the stock crash. During the current year, its value has fallen 37% as it continue to trade below the list price. The recent quarter’s result announcement has not helped Fusion-io, either.

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HP Looks to Acquisitions for Growth

IDC’s PC Shipment report for the quarter ended June 2013 saw worldwide PC shipments drop 11% over the year to 75.6 million units. Sequentially, shipment volume dropped from 76.3 million units. During the quarter, Lenovo recorded the slowest decline and managed to surpass HP to become the leader in PC sales. With 12.6 million units shipped, Lenovo had 16.7% of the market, followed by 12.4 million units or 16.4% market share commanded by HP. Over the year, Lenovo’s sales fell 1.4%, while HP saw a 7.7% decline in sales. Dell is the third largest vendor, with sales falling 4% to 9.2 million units.

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Zulily, a Flash Sales IPO Cooking?

According to comScore, during the quarter ended December 2012, overall e-commerce sales in the US grew 14% over the year. Researcher IBISWorld estimates that during the same period, flash sales site Zulily saw revenues double over the year. It is this rapid growth that has spurred the high valuations for the company, along with speculation of a possible IPO coming soon.

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HomeShop18 of India: Looking for an IPO on Nasdaq?

According to a Boston Consulting Group report, the consumer market in India is projected to grow to $3.6 trillion by the year 2020, from an estimated $1 trillion in 2010. Within the market, increased Internet penetration is also spurring the growth of e-commerce. But as I have said, there are few sectors within consumer retail that are seeing strong growth in the market. Within retail, though, there are several others besides Flipkart that are making it big.

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Tablets a Boon for LeapFrog’s Revenues

According to a recently released report by Research and Markets, worldwide sales of toys grew from $78.1 billion in 2007 to $83.3 billion in 2011, translating to a meager 1.6% annual growth rate. Closer to home, NPD’s report released earlier this year suggests that the U.S. toy market has flattened out. Last year, toy sales in the U.S. fell marginally from $16.6 billion a year ago to $16.5 billion. With the growing consumption of tablet and smartphone-like devices, traditional toy sales have fallen. To continue to retain interest in toys, toy manufacturers are expanding their digital offerings.

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