China Propels Growth Again as SMBs Demand Print

More than 13,000 new businesses started up every day, on average, in China in 2016. Most are small to medium offices (SMB) all in need for print devices. “We should see the China market’s continued growth in the coming year,” says Yexi Liao, Market Analyst of IDC Asia/Pacific’s Image Printing and Document Solutions (IPDS) team.

IDC points out growth in the Asia Pacific region excluding Japan (APeJ) was largely driven by China, where the demand for print devices significantly grew as local government policies encouraging entrepreneurship helped to induce more than 5 million new businesses in 2016.

According to the latest IDC Asia Pacific Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals Tracker, the total hardcopy peripherals shipment in 2017Q1 for APeJ was 7.27 million units. This is a 5.6% improvement over the same period last year and marks the fourth consecutive quarter of growth for the region. Both laser and inkjet markets have contributed to the growth, with laser growing 7.1% year-on-year (YoY) while inkjet grew by 8.1% YoY.

HP pounced on the increased opportunities in China by partnering with one of China’s top etailers, JD.com, to host a JD HP Super Brand Day promotion in February this year. The promotion helped HP to widen their lead as the top vendor in the APeJ market and contributed to their 11% growth vs the same period last year. HP is expected to continue its upward trend as they take aim at the laser copier market with their range of new products to be launched later this year.

The top five hardcopy peripherals companies account for 81% of the market. The main players dominance is expected to continue, especially with the full implementation of HP Inc’s acquisition of Samsung’s print business in the 2nd half of 2017.

Laser market in APeJ continues to outperform the rest of the world. Propelled by the growing demand for print devices in China, APeJ had recorded the highest YoY growth rate in the world for the 3rd consecutive quarter. HP Inc grew the fastest, increasing their laser shipment in the region by more than 177,000 units YoY in 2017Q1 vs same period last year.