India Printer, Copier & MFP Market Declined 16 Percent In Q309

The combined printer, copier and multifunctional product (MFP) market in India totalled nearly 0.6 million units in the third quarter of 2009, a 15.7 percent decline over the third quarter of 2008, according to Gartner.

“Though the market declined year-on-year, there was a growth of 10 percent as compared to the second quarter in 2009,” said Vishal Tripathi, Principal Research Analyst at Gartner. “Sentiments are improving in India and the Indian printer market has seen positive response, with consumers and businesses again starting to spend on print devices.”

Many top-tier vendors experienced significant shipment declines in the third quarter of 2008. Shipment declines by vendors such as Xerox which saw a 58 percent decrease, followed by Panasonic with 39 percent, HP at 32 percent, Brother with 28 percent, and Samsung Electronics with 21 percent decline primarily contributed to overall decline of the market, which could not be offset with Epson and Canon’s growth.

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In the Indian printer, copier and MFP market, with the exception of Canon and Epson, three of the top five vendors recorded a decline in the third quarter of 2009. For the first time, Canon replaced HP in its No 1 position in the Indian page printer market with a market share of 38.7 percent as compared to 36.2 percent of HP.

Canon with 21 percent market share has emerged as No 1 in A3 Flatbed Copier/ MFP in the third quarter of 2009. Increased focused on smaller cities and adding more partners has helped Canon attain this growth.

Epson grew 48 percent in the third quarter of 2009 as compared to the same period last year, due to 22 percent growth in serial dot matrix printers and 27 percent in flatbed Inkjet devices. New distribution networks and partner training programs helped Epson grow in the Indian market.

The biggest loss was incurred by HP, which saw a 55 percent decline in laser printers and an overall decline of 32.1 percent in the third quarter of 2009 over the third quarter of 2008. This was primarily due to stock issues.

“With improving market conditions, we estimate single high digit growth in the Indian market in the fourth quarter of 2009,” said Tripathi.