The Philippine laptop market expanded by 8% as of July, defying domestic and global economic pressures, according to Acer, with the Taiwanese electronics company, long ranked among the world's largest personal computer vendors, holding the top spot in local market share for the 20th consecutive year on the strength of its nationwide physical presence and growing school partnerships.

Sue Ong Lim, Acer Philippines managing director, said the growth ran counter to expectations given the array of external headwinds.

"It's quite counterintuitive. I know you'd think that maybe the volume will decline this year because there are so many external factors— inflation is so high, GDP (gross domestic product) is low, there's an oil crisis, and component prices keep going up," Ms. Lim said during a press conference on Thursday celebrating the company's 10th regional anniversary.

"Still, the Philippine market grew by 8%, but Acer (Philippines) grew faster at a pace of 10%," she added, citing data from GfK (Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung), a German market research company known for tracking point-of-sale retail data in consumer technology markets.

The local growth stands out against the broader global picture, as PC shipments worldwide have contracted since the pandemic-era surge in demand faded, according to industry trackers.

The brand commanded a 37.9% share of the local laptop market from January to July, retaining its leading position for 20 consecutive years. Ms. Lim attributed Acer's continued market leadership to its strong physical presence nationwide and its expanding partnerships with schools.

As of this writing, Acer operates 65 concept stores nationwide, seven of which are Predator concept stores serving the company's dedicated gaming brand, Ms. Lim said. The company also counts 427 member schools under the Acer Academy program, its educational initiative that seeks to help educational institutions adopt digital technologies.

"We won't stop here. We make sure that we make our technology as accessible and available as possible to many, many markets in the country," Ms. Lim said.

Moving ahead, Acer will focus on four key areas over the next 50 years: industrial PCs and point-of-sale (POS) systems, smart medical solutions, energy, and home appliances, Acer Pan-Asia Pacific President Andrew Hou said during the press conference. The roadmap deepens a diversification push beyond the company's core PC business, where it already sells products including Acerpure home appliances. — Edg Adrian A. Eva