Hp And Canon Buy Some Good Printer News

[Anonymous]

Hp And Canon Buy Some Good Printer News
HP Retains Channel Champion Crown For Printers

HP retained its FY2013-14 Channel Champion crown in the category of printers sold to the consumer and SOHO segments. Canon held on to the second spot but was neck-to-neck with Epson. Samsung slipped to the last position.

Hewlett-Packard
HP retained its leading position with its continued push on channel management, customer marketing and channel marketing. It also streamlined its post-sales support.

 

HP partners lauded the company’s initiative to hold advisory board meets at the regional level. This, according to them, resolved problems such as delays in backend and incentive payouts, and issues with post-sales service. Partners said that the company has a new partner portal to streamline and automate several processes including sell-out data, incentive and back-end outstandings, payment history and claims escalation. They said that as a result of the new portal the claims settlement and incentive payout duration reduced considerably

The vendor increased the number of its sales executives visiting retail counters to educate in-store executives on new products as well as ongoing channel and customer schemes.

Respondents agreed that HP was the most aggressive in customer marketing and promotions around its Ink Advantage printers which helped increase traction in a market which otherwise saw a decline in demand during FY2013-14. HP also did localized promotions in cities and at HP Worlds through a third-party agency; this helped increase footfalls and conversions.

Respondents appreciated HP’s round-the-year customer promotions. It also offered channel schemes every month; these included cash discounts of Rs 100 to Rs 500 per printer.

The company scored well on post-sales warranty as it included even its fast-moving entry-level printers under the onsite warranty cover. While it offers a 1-year standard warranty on printers, it offered a 2-year extended warranty on laser printers for Rs 500. HP also started a campaign whereby its service representatives visited retailers to understand their feedback and explain warranty terms and the escalation matrix.

HP got low scores on channel profitability as respondents complained of channel over-capacity. Many said that following the integration of two of its divisions the number of volume partners for printers has increased, leading to over-distribution and disturbances in MOP. Many of its RDs also rued the lack of a territory protection policy; they said RDs from other regions sold products in their regions.

Canon
Canon retained its position as the second-most channel-preferred consumer printer vendor due to its aggressive strategy, improved channel focus and enhanced post-sales support.

The company expanded its inkjet printer and MFP range in Q3FY2013-14 and increased its focus on entry-level printers. Respondents saw increased traction for models such as the E510 and E560 Wi-Fi MFPs, and MP 287 MFP. They also commended Canon’s strategy of being price-aggressive on entry-level SKUs. However, Canon was dearer by 3-5 percent compared to HP in mid- and high-end models, which affected traction.

While Canon didn’t focus much on media promotions, it made up for it by offering attractive end customer deals including free headsets, Wi-Fi routers and backpacks with its printers. The company was also aggressive with in-store and local promotions through its third-party agency. An increase in the number of Canon Image Squares during the fiscal helped increase brand visibility and customer awareness.

Respondents noted an enhancement in post-sales support as Canon increased the number of its service centers in many territories and also increased the number of its service personnel at each center. However, a few partners criticized the lengthy process for DOA. Canon offers 1- and 2-year limited onsite warranties on its printers.

Respondents also noted an increase in the focus on channel engagement as Canon increased the number of channel managers in the north and south. The company scored low on channel profitability because it decreased the back-end from the earlier 3-4 percent to less than 2 percent during FY2013-14.

Epson
Epson moved from the last position to the third spot in FY2013-14. While the company faced channel ire in 2012 due to a shortage of run-rate printers, respondents noted that most SKUs were readily available in FY2013-14. However, a few partners reported delays in sourcing models such as the L210 and L550 during Q2FY2013-14.

Respondents saw continued traction for Epson’s ink tank-based printers including L210 and L350 which offered the lowest CPP. The company introduced its M100 single function and M200 MFP inkjet printers (Wi-Fi- and iPrint-enabled) in June 2013, and saw good traction among jobbers and professionals. Epson also expanded its entry-level MFPs by introducing the ME101 and ME301 (Wi-Fi-enabled) in early 2013; however, respondents said these printers received low traction due to their cartridge-based technology with higher CPP.

According to many respondents, Epson offered good margins compared to its competitors.

The vendor improved its post-sales support over the previous year. Epson increased its service centers in many upcountry locations; unlike FY2012-13, there was no major shortage of spare parts.

Respondents reported lower focus on customer marketing, and said there were no schemes for customers; this affected sales in comparison to the competition. The company spent on media advertisements on a regional basis only.

Partners noted a drop in channel engagement as Epson removed a few of its ASMs in the north and east. The company came up with some attractive schemes offering smart phones, tablets, cash rebates and foreign trips, but, partners said, it took 3-4 months to settle the rebates and incentives.

Samsung
Samsung was pushed to the last position. Respondents said the company paid less attention to its IT portfolio and was instead more focused on its consumer electronics (CE) and mobility businesses. They added that in printers it was focused on mid- and high-end printer SKUs and had only 2-3 SKUs at the entry-level, which reduced the overall addressable opportunity for partners. They also reported intermittent delays in the availability of the mid end SKUs by 15-20 days.

Respondents praised the company’s move to introduce cartridges without chips to enable local refilling of toners. Samsung sells only laser printers, and is popular among jobbers and SOHOs in Class C and D cities.

Partners lamented that Samsung had decreased their frontend and backend margins.

Respondents said that since the company has a common service infrastructure for all its products, printers get low priority compared to CE products. They reported TAT delays due to the shortage of spares.

Samsung offers a 1-year onsite warranty, but offered a free 1-year extended warranty during the fiscal.

[Author]

June 24, 2014 at 1:00 PM