Lasers sharp against printer sales decline
All-in-one and other laser printer sales up as overall printer volumes fall
By Fleur Doidge
UK printer sales slid 15 per cent in unit terms during the second quarter of 2011, compared with the same period a year ago – with lasers the only segment to post growth.
That is according to IT market watcher Context, which also found that the all-in-one (AIO) laser category in the UK expanded 24 per cent, with laser printers overall increasing their share by one per cent.
In contrast, inkjet sales in the UK plumbed an abyss – with their market share shrinking 41 per cent in this year's Q2 in unit terms. AIO inkjets proved slightly more popular, losing only 17 per cent market share by volume.
Copier-based MFPs in the UK sold 24 per cent fewer units in Q2 2011 than in Q2 2010, and dot-matrix machines 21 per cent fewer.
"Copier-based MFP sales suffered across EMEA," said Jeremy Davies (pictured, above), CEO and co-founder of Context. "This is due to the recessionary effects on businesses which were particularly felt in western Europe, with a drop in unit sales by 12 per cent in the second quarter of 2011 compared to last year."
Printer sales in France grew three per cent in the quarter as both AIO laser and inkjet sales flourished. Germany, however, saw sales drop 8.9 per cent, sales in Italy fell 9.2 per cent, and in Spain 17.5 per cent in Q2 2011 compared with last year's second quarter.
Total EMEA printer sales slid 4.4 per cent in unit terms during the second quarter of 2011, with the laser category once more the only segment to post growth.
Sales of AIO laser printers grew 20 per cent in the quarter across the region as single-function machines and AIO consumer inkjets fell from favour.
AIO inkjet sales fell four per cent in the quarter across EMEA overall, and seven per cent in western Europe alone.
According to Context, the UK saw HP consolidate and grow its market share from 39 per cent in the year-ago quarter to 54 per cent in Q2 2011.
Runner-up in the UK was Canon, whose share fell slightly from 19 per cent to 17 per cent in 2011, compared with Q2 2010.
Epson – in second place last year – saw the biggest collapse in sales, losing eight per cent in Q2 2011 from Q2 2010. It now has only 12 per cent of the printer market in the UK.
Samsung increased its small three per cent UK share to five per cent in the year, while fourth-equal vendor Brother retained its own five per cent slice of the British sales pie, according to Context.
http://www.channelweb.co.uk/cr...rinter-sales-decline
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