Russian OEM representatives about the local market of printing devices in 2007

In one of the January’08 issues the PCWeek published in Russian produced an interesting article about the market of printing equipment in the Russian Federation. In this short article PC Week published the opinions of the representatives of Russia-based OEM offices /Konica Minolta, Xerox Russia, HP, Epson/. Here I will give the main points put forth in the article.

…The actual growth of shipment of printing devices into the country grew by 15% as compared with 2006. The MFU segment grew twofold (in volume) and it is even higher than expected. This growth tempo allows to state the Russian printing market is close to saturation, but it still has potential for further growth in 2008-2009.

So what were the main trends in the copying and printing business in 2007? All experts say the MFUs are leaders in sales, color mono functional devices are also on the rise. The segment of A4 all-in-ones experienced the most significant growth rates as A4 is still the leading format in the country, said the representative of Xerox. Laser MFUs costing less 500 USD are in strong demand due to a drop in retail price for this type of products. These products (under USD500 color laser MFUs) have become popular due to the drop of the price under the psychological 500 USD barrier.

Epson’s representative mentioned that inkjet is already considered by businesses as a good alternative to laser printing. However, people from Xerox think inkjet printing shrinks and belongs merely to the realm of home printing.

What do all experts think about 2008 perspectives?

To sum it up, the interviewed experts thinks that:

1) the situation on the local market of printing and copying equipment will not change abruptly;
2) cost-per-copy principle will come upfront as more efficient and beneficial; this will make the market even more competitive;
3) some printing-based spheres will continue going digital (like university, educational establishments, etc.), this will increase demand for low-end color desk and small group devices;
4) MFU segment will continue to grow;
5) Logistics will be improved, which will result in better retailer-supplier processes.

The original article is available here.