European PC Application Software Sales Reach $939 Million in First Half,
1995

Uneven Growth in the Second Quarter

September 19, 1995 (Washington, DC) - The Software Publishers Association
(SPA) announced today that personal computer application software sales in
Western Europe were $423 million for the second quarter of 1995 (Q2 95), a
1% increase from the second quarter of 1994. For the first half of 1995,
sales were $939 million, only a 3% increase from the first half of 1994.
For the quarter, overall unit sales increased 48%, and were up 44% for the
first half. Unit sales for the region rose 44% over 1994 levels. The
strongest growth was seen in the major German market which showed a 79%
increase in unit sales over the first half of 1994.

Windows Applications Growth Modest, Mac & DOS decline

Windows application sales for Q2 95 were $388M, a 6% increase from Q2 94.
Stronger sales in the first quarter of 1995 lead to Windows applications
sales growth for the first half of 9%-to $852M. Second quarter 1995 DOS
application sales were $20M (off 35%), while Macintosh application sales
were $13.5M (off 28%). For the first half of 1995, DOS applications fell
42% from their '94 level to 46.8M, while Macintosh applications were down
to $34.4M--20% below the same period in 1994. Windows applications now own
91% of reported U.S. software application sales in Western Europe.

"The figures show that the sales slowdown in the second quarter in Western
Europe was not widespread ," said Ken Wasch, SPA President. "Six areas
showed better software sales growth in Q2 '95, while five areas' growth
rates fell from the first quarter." "Sales growth in Europe is still being
fiercely held down by pricing pressures" said Gerard Gabella, SPA Europe
Managing Director. "The regions' quarterly unit growth rates have been
between 40 and 50% so far this year. But, average prices are still
declining so sharply from 1994 that revenue growth has been held nearly
flat. "

Thirty-eight primarily US-based software firms participated in the SPA's
data program by submitting confidential data to the accounting firm of
Arthur Andersen, which prepared the report for the SPA. Among the
participants are: Adobe, Borland, Claris, Lotus, Microsoft, Software
Publishing, Symantec, and the WordPerfect Division of Novell. The sales
data were collected in 33 software categories (including word processors,
spreadsheets, presentation graphics, and others) and in six operating
systems (including DOS, Macintosh, and Windows).

The Software Publishers Association is the principal trade association of
the PC software industry. Its 1,200 members represent the leading
publishers in the business, consumer, and education markets. The SPA has
offices in Washington, DC, and Paris, France. SPA press releases are
available on-line through the SPA's Web home page at www.spa.org, through
CompuServe (GO:SPAFORUM), and from SPA's fax-on-demand service at
800-637-6823 in the US, or 908-885-6255. (International callers must add
011 before their country code when entering their fax number for
response).

Software Publishers Association
1730 M St, Northwest, Suite 700, Washington, D.C. 20036
202-452-1600,  Fax: 202-223-8756
 
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