MFPs Continue to Lead the Way in the Worldwide Hardcopy Peripherals Market, According to IDC.

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. -- A key bright spot in the overall hardcopy peripherals market worldwide continues to be the color laser multifunction peripheral (MFP) market. This segment had another solid showing in a challenging economic environment with unit shipments declining just 6% year over year in the second quarter of 2009 (2Q09). As color continues to penetrate the overall hardcopy market, the MFP market is weathering the current economic downturn better than its single function counterparts, as products continue to make the transition towards multifunction. Overall, the worldwide hardcopy peripherals market declined 21% year over year in 2Q09 to 24.1 million units. Shipment value declined 23.2% over the same time period to $11.6 billion.

In the current economic environment, vendors are focusing on offering cost cutting and/or productivity enhancements to customer's existing document infrastructure as well as driving managed print services. "We are seeing increased shipments for devices that were priced below $300," said Phuong Hang, program manager, Worldwide Hardcopy Peripheral Trackers. "And the major vendors are emphasizing innovative cost savings - including extended warranties and/or extended supplies agreements - in the advertising. They are trying to entice buyers with savings on both devices and supplies over a three-year period."

Technology Highlights

* The inkjet market continues to be the dominant technology segment with 16.6 mllion units shipped in 2Q09. The color inkjet MFP segment showed the second highest growth rate among all technology segments behind color laser MFPs with -13% year-over-year growth.

* The monochrome laser market remains the largest technology segment in terms of value at $4.2 billion and has the largest potential regarding MFP opportunity. This segment has the lowest rate of MFP penetration of all major non-impact segments.

* Color laser penetration continues to increase, driven up by the market performance of the global color laser MFP market. Although, it had a negative growth rate this quarter, this segment continues to outperform the overall hardcopy peripherals market.

Regional Highlights

* United States - Given the economic uncertainties, the U.S. market has remained in relatively good shape compared to other regions. The U.S. was the decisive leader in terms of overall value in 2Q09 ($3.9 billion) and ranked number two in terms of unit shipments (5.7 million). Year-over-year shipment growth in the U.S. was third best after Japan and Asia/Pacific while its value growth was second best after Japan.

* Western Europe - The second quarter hit Western Europe rather hard with unit shipments down 23% year over year, which is approximately 10 points lower than the previous quarter. Despite a difficult quarter, the region is still number two in terms of value ($2.7 billion) but has slipped to third in terms of unit shipments (4.8 million).

* Central Europe, Middle East, Africa (CEMA) - Once the fastest growing region in the hardcopy peripherals market, CEMA has now become the hardest hit in terms of growth rates. In 2Q09, unit shipments declined 44%, while value declined 57% year over year.

* Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) - This region leaped into the leading position in terms of shipments with 6.1 million units shipped in 2Q09, yet maintains its fourth place rank in terms of value with $1.7 billion. The year-over-year growth rate for APeJ was second only to Japan's.

* Japan - Japan enjoyed the best year-over-year growth rate in shipments (-3%) and value (-10%) in Q209 when compared to the other regions.

Vendor highlights

HP - Despite losing nearly 4 points in unit market share and declining 28% year over year in 2Q09, HP continues to be the undisputed leader in printing with twice the market share of its nearest competitor in the worldwide hardcopy peripheral market in terms of shipments. As with most vendors, HP's 2Q09 laser shipments were streamlined to correspond to the challenging market conditions, resulting in an one-point loss in the total laser market share.

Canon - Canon, the second leading vendor, outperformed all others in the top 5 category, increasing its stake in the overall hardcopy market to 20% in 2Q09 from 17% in 1Q09. On a worldwide level, Canon's shipments declined 8% compared to the other vendors in the top 5, whose unit shipment growth ranged from -13% to -32%. Canon was the only vendor in the top 5 that showed positive sequential growth (5%), an impressive climb from a -25% quarter-over-quarter loss in 1Q09.

Epson - Epson retained its third place rank in the total hardcopy market as well as in the worldwide inkjet segment in 2Q09. Epson was the second best performer among the top 5 in the overall market, with -13% year-over-year growth compared to the market average of -21%. Epson gained 1 point in total market share.

Brother - Brother remained the distant fourth vendor, gaining 1 point in total market share to 6% in 2Q209. Among the top 5, Brother's overall performance in the second quarter was average, achieving a better year-over-year result than HP and Lexmark, while falling behind Canon and Epson. On a worldwide level, Brother's inkjet and laser segment suffered a bigger year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter loss in 2Q09, with numbers ranging from -18% to -32% compared to +6% to -11% in 1Q09.

Lexmark - Lexmark maintained its 5% share and position as the fifth largest vendor in the overall hardcopy market, with 1.1 million units shipped in 2Q09. Lexmark's 2Q09 total laser shipment showed a slower year-over-year decline in 2Q09, down 13% versus 18% in 1Q09. True to its mission, Lexmark continues to focus on laser while exiting the lower end inkjet segment. In 2Q09, laser shipments accounted for 29% (up from 21% in 1Q09) and inkjet 70% (down from 78%) of all Lexmark-branded devices.

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Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals Tracker, August 2009

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Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals Tracker, August 2009

Notes:

* IDC tracks A2-A4 devices in the Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals

* Hardcopy Peripherals include single-function printers, printer-based multifunctional systems (MFPs), and single-function digital copiers (SF DC). Data for all vendors are reported for calendar periods.

For more information about IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals Tracker, please contact Phuong Hang ([e-mail]).

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