Context Reports 6% Increase in Sales of MFPs in Western Europe

According to European IT research company Context, unit sales of laser color multifunction printers (MFPs) throughout Western European distribution channels saw a year-on-year (YoY) growth of 6% for 2013-to-date.

Context found that most countries in the region have witnessed growth. Unit sales of laser color MFPs in UK increased by 21%. Spain registered a growth of 18% and Sweden an increase of 16%. Unit sales in Italy increased 2%, while France and Germany each saw a rise of 13%.

Further, Context said “most vendors registered positive double-digit growth for the year-to-date.” For the MFP segment, Canon, OKI and Ricoh hit over 40% distribution sales growth, followed by Brother and Xerox with 17% sales growth, and HP with a 1% increase, while Samsung saw a 2% decline. HP leads the MFP market in the region with 37% market share, while Samsung captured 19% and Xerox just 11%.

Zivile Brazdziunaite, Imaging Analyst at Context, noted, “Changes in office printing increased the demand for laser MFPs, which are favored within enterprises and government institutions across Western Europe. While these devices offer more functionality, a growth of digital workflow also means that more people are taking advantage of digital scanning, particularly the option to scan directly to the Cloud and thereby share files with others more easily.”