Toshiba Laptop Sales Enjoying a Merry Holiday in U.S.

Dec 13 (Reuters) – Toshiba Corp (T:6502) expects its notebook personal computer sales in the United States to sharply outpace the industry in the holiday season.

Jeff Barney, general manager of digital products for Toshiba America, expects laptop sales in the holiday quarter to grow in the low teens from a year ago.

He said the overall U.S. notebook market should grow in the low single digits, following a robust performance in last year’s holiday season.

"I think last year had some unique contributing factors, the Windows 7 launch provided a little bit of a bump … and of course netbooks around the holidays became a real popular gift," Barney said in an interview.

Toshiba sells only laptops in the United States and the bulk of its sales go to consumers.

Toshiba was the No. 5 PC maker overall in the United States in the third quarter, according to IDC. They were the No. 3 laptop vendor. (Reporting by Gabriel Madway; editing by Andre Grenon)