Following a positive Q3, the HCP market’s fourth quarter has been similarly robust, with a year-on-year growth of 19 percent, as revealed by IDC.
Unit shipments of HCP reached 877,945, recorded the latest edition of the IDC Asia Pacific Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals Tracker, 2017 Q4.
Japanese brands were responsible for a significant portion of sales, accounting for three out of five of the top performing companies and “capturing almost half of the India market (48.6 percent).” American companies came second with a 41.4 percent market share, a slight decrease from Q3 2017’s 41.9 percent.
Shipments of inkjet units rose by 19.3 percent YoY to 415,135, and laser printers (as well as copiers) witnessed unit shipments of 408,891, experiencing a YoY growth of 19 percent. As a result, India’s laser market “was the second-best” in the Asia Pacific region.
“The growth in the last quarter of the year was driven by GST implementation in the country continuing its momentum from previous quarter. Government lowered the tax slab on Multi-Function Printers from 28 percent to 18 percent effective November 15, leading to increase in preference for MFPs post the slab change. From a YoY perspective, 2017Q4 performed significantly better than the demonetization affected 2016Q4. In the Inkjet market, ink tank printers continue to dominate the market with all the leading vendors focusing on Home and SMB segment to drive the shipments. Laser printer market witnessed a strong growth in the Copier segment which saw high demand from BFSI sector, followed by Government.” says Bani Johri, Market Analyst, IPDS, IDC India.
