Tablet markets in the Middle East and Africa, MEA, recorded its first ever yearly drop in the first quarter of 2015, with shipments to the region declining 5.8 per cent to 3.83 million units.
Reports released on Monday, June 22, by International Data Corporation, IDC, blamed the poor performance on a steep decline in the region’s biggest tablet market, Turkey, where shipments almost halved when compared to the corresponding quarter of 2014.
Research Manager for Personal Computing, Systems, and Infrastructure Solutions at IDC, Fouad Charakla said that the major reason behind the decline of the Turkish market was the discontinuation of deliveries for the massive FATIH education project, which had a huge impact on commercial demand for tablets in the country during Q1.
According to him, currency fluctuations in Turkey, high inventory levels carried over from Q4 2014, and some saturation in the tablet market also had a negative impact on shipments targeted at the consumer segment.