Non-OEM Supplies Capture 70% of Russian Market

New research findings from International Data Corporation (IDC) reveals that in the first half year 2015 (H1-2015), the market share of non-original printing consumables has captured 70.5% of the market in Russia.

The Russian market has seen other dramatic changes, suffering a drop of 48.5% year-on-year (YOY) with the number of printing devices shipments falling below 1 million for the first time since 2002. According to IDC, overall toner shipments declined by 6.7%.

However, according to the EMEA Hardcopy Peripherals Consumables Tracker published by IDC, the OEM market share clearly outperformed alternative supplies in Central Eastern European (CEE) countries.

Despite the sharp contrast in sales of hardware and consumables, little change has taken place in the overall page volume by Russian companies and organizations. IDC also observed an increasing number of non-OEM-based contracts in the print services segment, as the majority of Russian organizations and companies have been forced to increase the share of compatible consumables in their purchases, or switch to cheaper compatible products, or even to refilling services, under the pressure caused by the ruble devaluation.

Konstantin Makarenkov, senior analyst for hardcopy peripherals in the IDC Russia office, said, “The increase in prices for imported, branded consumables subsequently increased demand for local compatible brands – both new-built and remanufactured. This was mainly observed in the largest cities; in smaller cities, refilling services are likely to be more popular because they are cheaper.”

The CEE consumables market (which comprises Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Romania) declined slightly less than the Russian market, but the share of non-original supplies fell to below 50%. The main reasons for the decline include: the limited availability of empty cartridges and components for remanufacturing, and extremely high price pressure due to competition from cheap, new-built cartridges. The growth of the OEM share is due to the healthy and growing print services market, based on original supplies, ongoing legal action by OEMs against patent infringement, and marketing budgets for promoting the advantages of original consumables.

IDC predicts that OEM market will increase further over the long term, and CEE market structure will remain very different from Western European markets.  “With economic conditions and prosperity in CEE countries remaining below WE levels overall, purchasing power among consumers and organizations continues to be negatively affected. Consequently, CEE markets are price-sensitive, which gives compatible consumables an advantage,” says Przemek Kowalski, consumables product manager for IDC CEMA.

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