Western Europe PC Application Software Sales Reach $444 Million in Second
Quarter, 1994

Sales Gains in Germany/Austria, Scandinavia, and Switzerland Pace Growth

September 19, 1994 (Washington, DC)- The Software Publishers Association
(SPA) announced today that personal computer application software sales in
Western Europe were $444 million for the second quarter of 1994, a 15%
increase from the second quarter of 1993. For the first half of 1994,
sales were $958 million, a 12% increase from the first half of 1993. For
the quarter, unit sales increased 65%, and were up 73% for the first
half.

Windows' Increase and DOS' Decline Continue

Windows application sales for 2Q94 were $381M, a 34% increase from 2Q93,
and accounted for better than five in six application sales dollars in
Western Europe in the period. DOS and Macintosh applications split most of
the remainder. DOS application sales were $33.1 million (off 54%), while
Macintosh application sales were $28.4 million (up 9%) in the quarter. For
the first half of 1994, Windows application sales were $805.4 million (up
30%), DOS application sales were $87.5 million (off 48%), and Macintosh
application sales were $59.5 million (off 1%).

Germany/Austria, Scandinavia and Switzerland Record Solid Growth

Germany/Austria was the largest region in 2Q94, with sales up 26% to $137.4
million. UK/Ireland was next, with sales up 13% to 97.7 million. France
was third, with sales of $62.2 million in 2Q94, off 10% from 2Q93.

Although not the largest markets, the Nordic countries, Sweden and
Switzerland were the fastest growing markets in the quarter. Nordic
countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and Norway) sales were $27.8
million, up 92%, while sales in Sweden and Switzerland were $25.0 million
(up 62% and $23.7 million (up 45%), respectively.

"The software markets in Germany, the UK and France, because they are so
much larger than other markets in Western Europe, are the markets that
most influence Western Europe's overall software sales growth," said SPA
Europe's Managing Director Gerard Gabella. "These three markets have gone
in different directions in the last six to twelve months. After being off
7% in the first quarter, the German software market started recovering
nicely in the second quarter as the

German economy picked-up. The software market in the UK has been more
stable - it has not had the volatility seen in other markets, and instead
has been growing steadily. In France, the software market stagnated in the
second half of 1993, and has not yet gotten back on-track in 1994."

"The 15% growth in revenues in Western Europe in Q2 '94 was the best growth
the industry has seen since the first quarter of 1993," said David
Tremblay, SPA's Research Director. "Europe is a large and important market
for US software companies. Hopefully, this quarter marks the turn-around
for Western European software sales."

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: Aldus Borland, Claris, Lotus, Microsoft, Software
Publishing, Symantec, and WordPerfect. 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 1,100 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 CompuServe (GO:SPAFORUM), and from SPA's faxback
service at 800 637-6823.

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

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