*NEWS*INDIA:SMB's TO SPEND $1.3B ON PRINTERS/SUPPLIES IN 08

[Anonymous]

SMBs in India to Spend US$1.3B on Printers & Printing Supplies in 2008
The growth in printer spending is being spearheaded by vertical-specific and need-specific printer usage, says AMI study
KOLKATA,
India–april 08/Small and medium businesses (up to 999 employees) in
India are on track to spend US$1.3 billion on printers and printing
supplies this year, up a healthy 16% over last year. Over three fourths
of this spending comes from small businesses (SBs, or companies with up
to 99 employees) according to the latest study by New York-based Access
Markets International (AMI) Partners, Inc.“Increasing competition and
globalization has forced SMBs to become more quality conscious,” says
Swati Sasmal, Senior Manager for Research & Consultancy at AMI
Partners, “which has resulted in increased focus on their quality of
print outputs and printer usage. High-end printers like lasers are a
key trend that can be highlighted as a result of this quality-conscious
focus.”

But greater laser printer usage by SMBs has hurt the
inkjet. AMI findings reveal that around two thirds of SBs and half of
MBs use laser printers. Some factors driving laser printer use are
increased levels of networking and networked printers among India SMBs,
and the gradual drop in laser printer prices—resulting in a reduction
of the price differential with inkjets.“The retail and healthcare
segments are driving printer spending in India,” Ms. Sasmal says. “This
explains the rise in vertical-specific and need-specific printer usage,
for instance POS-based printers (for retail), and label & barcode
printers (for manufacturing/ logistics).” Some of the applications of
printers in the healthcare arena include patient wristbands during
admission, marking of samples, and billing.An interesting trend has
been the growth of thermal printers. This has been driven mainly by the
overall growth of retail and rapidly increasing customer footfall
within the retail segment. A need for high-speed POS/bill printers that
can enable better customer servicing and reduce waiting times has
spurred thermal printer usage. Low-cost imports of thermal printers
from neighboring countries are also adding to the growth and usage of
thermal printers.Although more SMBs are using new generation printers,
the dot-matrix printer still remains an important component within the
overall India SMB printer market and accounts for a significant share
of total printer shipments. However, this market is anticipated to
remain stagnant and show a sluggish growth in the near future.
Single-function printer usage is on the wane—SMBs are preferring
multi-function/all-in-ones due to their increased versatility at an
affordable cost.Although nearly 60% of Indian SMBs purchase new,
original manufacturer-branded cartridges, a significant proportion
still use refilled or re-manufactured cartridges. The retail channel
remains the preferred mode for printer supply replenishment for SBs—as
mentioned by 45% of SBs, whereas value-added resellers are preferred by
the MBs (or companies between 100 and 999 staff). The local printer
supply vendor is a vital influencer and often acts as a valuable source
of advice and information regarding choice of nature and brand of
printers—this is applicable mainly for SBs.

Hewlett-Packard
continues to lead the market in the Indian SMB printer space. Its wide
range of products in both the mono and color categories has helped it
to maintain the market leadership. Other players like Epson, Samsung,
and Canon are behind market leader HP, but are gradually gaining market
share. Further, new foreign players like Brother and Ricoh, with their
aggressive marketing plans, may pose a challenge for the market
leaders. The focus of most printer vendors has gradually shifted from
metros to “B & C class” cities thus boosting the growth of printers
in these areas.

[Author]

April 7, 2008 at 11:35 AM