Derek Schneideman, president of Gateway Japan Inc, said the company was aiming at personal computer (PC) unit sales growth of 35 to 50 per cent in 1999.

The company did not disclose the number of units in its sales figures or forecasts.

Gateway officials cited Dataquest data indicating that its share of Japan's consumer desktop PC market rose to 7.4 per cent in the second quarter of 1998 from 1.2 per cent a year earlier.

Schneideman said the consumer desktop market represented about one-third of Japan's total PC market.

At a news conference to launch the Japanese version of Gateway's "YourWare" package, which bundles a PC with various support services and a monthly payment plan, Gateway president and chief operating officer Jeff Weitzen said the company expected Japan's overall PCmarket would decline five to 10 per cent in 1998 and rise by a modest five to 10 per cent in 1999, compared with expected 15 to 20 per cent growth worldwide.

Weitzen said the company projected YourWare-related sales of more than 100,000 units in Japan during its first year.

YourWare sales in the United States, where the package was launched in late May, now account for well over half of the company's U.S. consumer shipments, Weitzen said, while he expected the percentage to be higher in Japan.

He said the company was also interested in introducing the YourWare concept in other Asian markets such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia.

Third-quarter results announced last week showed Gateway's unit sales in Asia rose 74 per cent in the quarter while revenues rose 35 per cent from a year earlier to $102 million.