India A4 Printer Market records 7.42 lakh unit shipments in 2Q 2014, a 4% QoQ fall and a 0.5% YoY decline

Epson extends its market share by revenue to 72%, more than three times the next competitor in the A4 Inkjet Single Function Printer market in Fiscal Year 2013- 2014

HP retains unit shipment leadership in the overall market during April-June 2014

New Delhi / Gurgaon / Bangalore: According to CMR’s India Monthly A4 Printer Market Review, 2Q 2014, August 2014 release, the country recorded shipments of 7.42 lakh A4 printers during 2Q (April-June) 2014, a decline of 4% quarter-on-quarter and half a percentage point year-on-year.

The prevalent somewhat uncertain, global macro-economic scenario, coupled with a long general election distracted commercial buying, resulting in a drop in shipments of laser printers by 3% quarter-on-quarter and as much as 7% year-on-year. However, renewed consumer demand and aggressive push by vendors, especially in the Multifunction Printer category and promotion of ‘low cost per page’ of printing drove the inkjet printer segment up by 9% year-on-year in terms of unit shipments.

The multifunction printer segments continued to grow faster than their single function peers. Inkjet Single Function Printers came to be considered as a stagnating category, only to serve low volume printing demands from the Home / SOHO and SMB enterprise segments. However, this category too was reinvigorated to some extent by the introduction of Epson CIS technology, with competitors following suit. The inkjet printing cost per unit has dropped to a level lower than laser printing. Hence, it would be interesting to see how long the SMB and large enterprise segments with mid- to high-volume printing needs, stick with entry level laser printers.

“The success of CIS technology catapulted Epson to revenue leadership. In the last concluded fiscal year, that is April 2013 to March 2014, Epson recorded a market share of 72% in revenue terms in the Ink Single Function category, whereas the nearest competitor recorded a share of only 20%. Wide acceptance of Epson’s L series and M series models, though priced higher than entry level printers brought better profitability across the distribution system. The market story has continued to unfold on similar lines in the April-June 2014 quarter as well”, stated Maninder Singh, Analyst, CMR InfoTech and Channels Practices.

In the overall India A4 printer market, HP remained the market leader with a market share of 49% in terms of units shipped, followed by Canon with 18% and Epson at 16% in the AMJ quarter of 2014.

The Road Ahead

“With a new Central Government in place, the economy seems to have responded positively. We believe that as the economy grows, spending by the government sector on e-Governance and other IT-driven projects will be followed by other verticals opening up as well. This is expected to provide the right fillip to the printer market in India”, added Sumanta Mukherjee, Lead Analyst, CMR Infotech and Channels Practices.