Western Europe’s HCP market slides again
August 15, 2018
New research by IDC has shown a 5.8 percent decrease in the region’s printer and MFP market in the second quarter of 2018, compared to the same period of 2017.
The new data means that for the first half of the year overall, the market had fallen by 3.6 percent year-on-year, or more than 273,000 units. Across the board, most major segments witnessed a decline but there were some growth segments such as A3 inkjet MFPs, A3 colour laser MFPs, and high-speed inkjets.
The inkjet market contracted by 4.5 percent, with notable falls in the consumer markets. Business inkjet shipments also fell slightly, but they remain positive for the first half of 2018. The main year-on-year decline was seen in the A4 markets, but the A3 inkjet MFP market continues to increase (by 12.6 percent) and there were increases in both the desktop and standalone markets as the technology becomes more popular in many industries. Overall inkjet printer sales declined by more than a third, while overall inkjet MFP shipments dipped slightly.
Laser markets were again subdued, declining by 8.5 percent. Both printer and MFP markets slid, with the worst performing segments being the A4 colour printer market (which declined by a third) and the A3 monochrome MFP market (which declined by a fifth). The only segment to see growth was the A3 colour MFP market (3.1 percent), despite the continued growth in the A3 inkjet market.
Following on from Q1, the high-speed inkjet market increased by over a third, showing the popularity of these production devices, with particularly strong growth in the continuous feed and label and packaging markets.
“The hardcopy markets have now declined year on year for the fourth straight quarter at an average rate of 3.8 percent,” said Phil Sargeant, Programme Director in IDC’s Western European Imaging, Hardware Devices, and Document Solutions group. “It is clear that the long-term growth prospects for the overall market is negative with many OEMs suffering sales declines, but there are those that have invested in new segments and are now reaping the reward of growth in an otherwise declining market.”
On a country-by-country basis, there were declines in Germany, France, and the UK. Germany, the region’s largest market, fell by 16.1 percent, a decline of 185,000 units, with two-thirds inkjets and the other third lasers.
Shipments in France in Q2, meanwhile, fell 3 percent, although inkjet shipments increased by 2.3 percent, with the damage being done by a 17.3 percent decline in laser shipments.
The UK, however, saw an increase in laser shipments, by 3 percent, although inkjet shipments decline by 6.7 percent, meaning an overall drop of 4.6 percent.
However, certain other countries recorded positive results, particularly Belgium, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland.
Categories : World Focus
Tags : Hardcopy Peripherals IDC Printer shipments Q2 Western Europe
