London; Thursday 2nd June, 2005: Creative (Nasdaq: CREAF) the worldwide leader in digital entertainment products for the personal computer and the Internet, announces that the latest report from market researcher GfK has placed it first, for sales value, in the European flash-based MP3 market. GfK has also commented that the flash-based MP3 player market for February/March was over 350% larger in sales value than at the same period in 2004.
“We are very satisfied with this performance,” says Geraldine Lee, European Business Manager for MP3 Players with Creative. “The market for flash-based MP3 players is extremely competitive and consumers are faced with a huge choice from many different suppliers. The results show that our products, marketing, sales channel and broad European presence make a winning combination.
“The market is growing very rapidly,” she adds. “You only have to compare the 350% growth in sales value that this segment achieved in February/March against the same period last year to see that. Even so, we increased our share of the market under these challenging conditions, against stronger competition from many new brands entering the market.
“I think this performance is a credit to the fundamental strengths of our wide product range,” she concludes. “Our MuVo and Zen players include a choice for every user and pocket. We are particularly pleased with the potential of our latest flash player, the Zen Nano Plus, with its choice of ten brilliant colours.”
The GfK report has highlighted some interesting trends in the European MP3 market:
· In the last 12 months, the value of sales for all MP3 players exceeded a billion Euro.
· In February/March, the value of sales for all MP3 players exceeded 232 million Euro.
· In February/March, sales value for all MP3 players grew by over 300% over the same period last year.
· In February/March, sales value for flash-based MP3 players grew by over 350% over the same period last year.
