MFPs drove a one percent year-on-year increase in hardware unit sales by IT distributors for the quarter.
Inkjet MFP sales increased four percent, accounting for 60 percent of all printer hardware sales for the region, according to data released by CONTEXT. HP and Canon accounted for most of the growth, increasing five percent and seven percent year-on-year respectively.
Laser SFP sales continue to fall as users transition to MFPs, dropping 10 percent year-on-year in 2Q2015, while laser MFPs increased their sales six percent, although laser MFP revenues declined six percent. This was caused by further falls to average prices, particularly for colour laser all-in-ones, shrinking from €739 ($827) to €635 ($710).
“Harsh vendor competition” has led to the decrease in prices, as well as “changes in the product mix”, as copier vendors continue to up their A4 model offering. Unit sales for high-priced A3 colour laser MFPs fell, while those priced under €1,499 ($1,678) grew 22 percent, with Samsung being the leader for this category with 37 percent market share, followed by Xerox with 29 percent share.
In turn, OKI has risen to third position with unit sales up 15 percentage points to reach 17 percent in the quarter. Printer hardware sales through IT distributors in the region varied by country, “reflecting individual economic conditions”. Spain grew fastest with unit sales increasing 19 percent, followed by France and Germany, with nine percent and one percent increases respectively.
Italian sales remained flat, and in the UK they decline four percent year-on-year, “as both vendors and distributors worked to manage inventory levels”.