The Australian laser printer market experienced disappointing retail sales during the recent Christmas period, with the majority of sales coming from a late festive season push, according to the results of IDC's Australia Monthly Printer and Inkjet MFP Tracker, Q42010.
With 2010 being a year of recovery, both the laser printer and inkjet multi-function devices markets celebrated a double-digit growth of 45% and 11% respectively as compared to 2009. However, momentum slowed down during the transition from Q3 to the final quarter, recording a flat sequential growth of less than 1%. During this period, there was an influx of low-end laser printers (mono and colour printers at the speed of 1-20ppm and 1-10ppm respectively, based on IDC speed segmentation) in the market, portraying a 50% unit growth as compared to Q3 results in this segment. Promotional activities during the quarter were focused on price discounts and rebates to channels, with the low price points subsequently trickling down to consumers during the festive season.
“After taking the lead in the laser printer market for three consecutive quarters in 2010, Brother lost the leadership position to HP in the final quarter, making Q4 the best quarter for HP,” said Yee-Kuan Lau, market analyst for IDC Australia. “HP has been very active in the consumer space towards Q4 with aggressive channel activities, while at the same time creating mindshare with e-Print advertisements to generate end-user demand.”
“Good consumer sentiment and a positive unemployment rate did not translate into high retail sales for the printing industry. The excessive inventory from a strong Q3, coupled with cautious consumer spending as a result of interest rate hikes, resulted in national retailers being more wary in their inventory management when stocking up for Christmas,” said Lau.
Moving forward, 2011 will be the year of sustainability, with vendors focusing on activities to maintain growth. One of the trends this leads to is an increase in printer choices for small and medium businesses (SMB) in Australia. Samsung and Brother are continuously expanding their portfolio and have been introducing attractive promotions targeted at these segments in the recent years. Additionally, Fuji Xerox has expanded its entry level portfolio to target the SMB market specifically. Greater competition and increased vendor focus in the SMB space will translate to a better variety of affordable printers for customers.
The top 7 vendors in the total laser market for Q4 2010 comprising of colour and mono laser printers were:
Source: IDC Australia Monthly Printer and Inkjet MFP Printer Tracker, Q42010
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