India printer copier and multifunctional product market declines in the Fourth Quarter Of 2011- Gartner

The combined serial inkjet and page printer, copier and multifunction product (MFP) market in India totaled 641,274 units in the fourth quarter of 2011, a 5.9 percent decline compared to the fourth quarter of 2010, according to Gartner, Inc.

“The fourth quarter of 2011, did not meet expectations when compared to the previous quarter,” said Amrita Choudhury, research analyst at Gartner. “Inkjet and page products registered mixed sales as organizations controlled purchasing of print devices and looked for services rather than products,” she added.

HP remained the leader in the Indian printer, copier and MFP market with 53% of the market in the fourth quarter of 2011, though it lost share by 2.7 percentage points as compared to the fourth quarter of 2010. Canon followed with 21.8% market share, while Epson and Samsung followed with 9.8% and 7.9% market share.

In the A4 MFP space, which includes inkjet and page technology, HP maintained its leadership position at 52.2 % market share in the fourth quarter of 2011, followed by Canon, Epson and Samsung with 20.6, 10.9 and 8.6% market share. Epson strengthened its MFP portfolio as A4 MFP shipments increased 56.2% compared to the fourth quarter of 2010.

In the A3 flatbed copier MFP segment, Canon led the market with 24.7% market share, followed by Ricoh with 19.4% in the fourth quarter of 2011. Konica Minolta further increased its foothold in A3 MFP space as it achieved 15.1% market share, while Xerox had 11% market share in the fourth quarter of 2011.

The page printer market marginally declined about 1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011. HP continued to dominate the segment with 54.1% market share in the fourth quarter of 2011 as sales grew by 16% as compared to the fourth quarter of 2010. Canon’s market share totaled 29.8% in the fourth quarter of 2011, and its sales declined approximately 25% compared to the fourth quarter of 2010. Samsung recorded growth of 6%, and it accounted for 11.2% market share in the Indian page printer market.

The inkjet printers market experienced a decline of 24.9% compared to the fourth quarter of 2010. Apart from weak consumer confidence and cautious consumer spending, penetration into the home segment stagnated as the technology matured. The growing proliferation of electronic media, such as smartphones and tablets, as a means of communication also contributed to the dismal outcome. In this segment, the market leader HP witnessed a shipment decline of 35.6% compared to fourth quarter of 2010. HP’s share of the market declined from 71% in 4Q10 to 61 percent in 4Q11. Epson commanded 31% market share, as its sales grew 16.7%, Canon saw a decline of 34% compared to the fourth quarter of 2010, but it did not have much effect on its market share, as it shrunk to 8% from 9% in 4Q10.