Printer sales decline 5.8% in Oct-Dec

The Indian printer copier and multi-functional product (MFP) market declined 5.8% to 6.41 lakh units in October-December 2011 as compared to the same quarter last year, research firm Gartner said today.

A total of 6.81 lakh units were shipped in the same quarter last year.

"The fourth quarter of 2011, did not meet expectations when compared to the previous quarter," Gartner Research Analyst Amrita Choudhury said.

HP remained the leader with 53% market share in the fourth quarter of 2011, though it lost share by 2.7 percentage points as compared to the fourth quarter of 2010, Gartner said.

Canon followed with 21.8% market share, while Epson and Samsung followed with 9.8% and 7.9% market share, respectively, it added.

In the A4 MFP space, which includes inkjet and page technology, HP maintained its leadership position with 52.2% market share, followed by Canon, Epson and Samsung with 20.6, 10.9 and 8.6% share, respectively.

In the A3 flatbed copier MFP segment, Canon led the market with 24.7% share, followed by Ricoh, Konica Minolta and Xerox with 19.4%, 15.1% and 11% share respectively, the study said.

The inkjet printers market experienced a decline of 24.9% compared to the fourth quarter of 2010, the research said.

"The growing proliferation of electronic media, such as smartphones and tablets, as a means of communication also contributed to the dismal outcome," Choudhury added.