The combined serial inkjet and page printer, copier and multifunction product (MFP) market in India totaled 6,95,128 units in Q1 2012, a 3.9% increase YoY, according to Gartner, Inc.
“The first quarter was a mixed bag for most of the print providers in the Indian market. The imaging industry saw a slight push by the government and the home segment despite the glum economic scenario prevailing overall in the IT sector,” said Amrita Choudhury, Research Analyst, Gartner.
HP remained the leader in the India printer, copier and MFP market, as its market share totaled 58.7% in Q1 2012, followed by Canon with 12.7%, Epson at 9.7%, and Samsung with 8.8%.
The A4 MFP segment is expected to remain the growth engine in the print market as the price gap between MFPs and printers continues to narrow amid a broader range of MFP products and a continued sales focus. This segment showed a healthy growth of 16.8% YoY. HP maintained its leadership position at 59.2%, followed by Canon with 13.3%, Samsung with 10% and Epson with 8.7%.
During Q1 2012, A3 flatbed copier MFP segment grew by 27% YoY. Ricoh led the market with 25.3%, followed by Canon with 19.7%, Konica Minolta with 13.9%, and Kyocera Mita with 12.3%.
The page printer market declined 13.5% in Q1 2012. HP dominated the market with 68.8%. Canon saw a major shipment decline of 67.5% compared to first quarter of 2011, and its market share also contracted significantly from 36% in the first quarter in 2011 to 13.5% in the first quarter of 2012. Samsung recorded a growth of 2.6%, and it accounted for 12.6% of the Indian page printer market.
The inkjet printers market declined 3.3% compared to the first quarter of 2011. The advancement of electronic media, such as smartphones and tablets, as a means of communication also contributed to the decline. In this segment, the market leader, HP, witnessed a shipment decline of 3.6% compared to first quarter of 2011, and it accounted for 58.3%. Epson’s sales grew 3.7%, and it accounted for 35.6%, while Canon saw a decline of 29.1% compared to the first quarter of 2011, contributing to 6.2% in Q1 2012.
