India HCP Market Expected a Continued Growth

Originally published at IDC.
India HCP Market Clocks 3rd Consecutive Quarter of Yearly Growth; IDC India Reports

According to the latest IDC Asia Pacific Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals Tracker, 2018Q1, India HCP market continued the momentum by clocking a healthy year on year growth of 8.5 percent in 2018 Q1 shipping 885,826 units.

Inkjet shipments grew by 10.7 percent year on year with overall shipments of 397,901 units while laser printers including copiers saw a year on year growth of 12.5 percent with overall shipments touching 435,491 units. India Laser market was the second-highest market in the entire Asia Pacific region excluding Japan, unit wise. Continuing the demand impetus from GST implementation, Laser printers saw an increased traction from small and medium enterprises.

“Q1 traditionally sees strong demand from government and 2018Q1 was no different with the demand majorly coming from the Education segment through Government. Although the volume of Government contracts has decreased, the frequency of orders has increased significantly. The demand for original copiers has increased due to Government clamp down on the reconditioned copier market by seizing shipments and cancelling licenses of distributors dealing in such products.”, says Bani Johri, Market Analyst, IPDS, IDC India.

“From an inkjet perspective, the ink tank market continued to rise steadily and now commands almost 70 percent of the inkjet market. This can be majorly attributed to the launch of new ink tank models by leading vendors, targeted at SMBs and Home users, as well as increased promotional activities by them”, adds Johri.

Top 3 Brand Highlights:
HP Inc. maintained its position as the overall market leader in HCP with a share of 39.2 percent and a 3.3 percent year on year growth. The launch of 6 new laser models, high traction from entry level Laser segment and end user focussed promotions helped HP Inc increase its dominance in the Laser HCP (Printer-based) market by 2.9 percent over 2017Q4. It gained significant ground in Laser HCP (Copier-based) segment as well through increased channel presence. HP Inc maintained its 2nd position in the inkjet market with a market share of 29.3 percent.

Epson sustained its 2nd position in the HCP market by clocking 27.4 percent year on year growth. It also continued its leadership in inkjet printer market by retaining its first position with a unit share of 50.3 percent and a 29.7 percent year on year growth, primarily due to the growth of its L-series models. Epson’s focus on increasing its channel presence by incentivizing the regional distributors was the one of the key factors contributing to its market leadership in the inkjet category. Other contributing factors are boosting its online presence of its entry level segment and refreshing its portfolio.

Canon, recorded year on year growth of 3.5 percent and occupied the 3rd position in the HCP market . Laser copier leads the way clocking a year on year growth of 32.6 percent. It maintained its number one position in the copier market as well with 23.3 percent unit market share. This trend is mainly attributed to Canon witnessing increased demand from the Government and its focus on championing the color segment and high speed copiers through channel development and training of its sales representatives. In the Inkjet market Canon saw a strong year on year growth of 31.8 percent as a result of their increased promotional activities around inktank models.

The research manager of IPDS, IDC India, Nishant Bansal had also introduced the market outlook. He explained: “Market is expected to continue the growth momentum in 2018 Q2 as well with a healthy double digit year on year growth led by inkjet printers. Inktank printers preference among consumers is increasing and vendors will look to aggressively push ink tank printers through marketing, channel schemes and end user promotions. On the laser side, strong demand from SMB and government will fuel the growth. Print security related concerns and need for digitization will result in strong demand for laser copiers across verticals. However, vendors will be under stress on account of Rupee depreciation and might be forced to relook at the prices.”

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