Hardcopy shipments decreased to 4.1 million in 1Q23

Western European shipments of hardcopy peripherals declined 4.3% year over year to 4.1 million units in 1Q23, according to research by International Data corporation (IDC). There was improvement in product availability, enabling back-order fulfilment, but in some cases strong sales to distributors in 4Q22 led to a slowdown in shipments from some vendors to the channel in 1Q23. For other vendors, fewer restrictions on factory capabilities enabled them to supply the channel much better than in the previous year and to be more active in the market with promotions.

Overall shipments for 1Q23 in Western Europe declined, but laser devices increased 14.5% in the quarter.

Highlights from the quarter and the year include:

• Inkjet shipments decreased by 11.5% in 1Q23 year over year.
• Color inkjet shipments decreased by 11.8% in 1Q23 year on year; monochrome inkjet increased by 77.2% in 1Q23 year over year, but this accounted for less than 20,000 units.
• Color laser increased by 37.1% in 1Q23 year over year, while monochrome was flat with an increase of only 0.4% in 1Q23 year over year.
• HP maintains overall market leadership, with 38.8%. Epson increased from 20.4% in 1Q22 to 20.7% in 1Q23, while Canon decreased its shipments in 1Q23 year over year, and Brother’s share increased in 1Q23 year over year. All participate in high-volume markets.
• The figure below shows the top four brands by unit shipments for the past five quarters.

“Although the overall market declined in 1Q23, color laser increased for most segments except for the low end, below 10ppm devices. IDC expects vendors to focus on higher-speed value-added devices,” said Julio Vial, research manager, Western European Data and Analysis Group, IDC.

Main country highlights:

• Germany: Overall shipments increased 15.4% in 1Q23, with both inkjet and color laser segments showing year-on-year increases. The German inkjet market increased by 15.7% in 1Q23 year over year, while the laser segment increased 14.7%.
• France: The HCP market decreased by 10.8% in 1Q23. Inkjet decreased 15.7% in 1Q23, but laser segments grew 7.5%. Despite the overall quarterly decreases, color laser increased by 19.6%.
• The U.K.: Total shipments declined in 1Q23 by 16.0% as inkjet decreased 24.0% year over year, but laser increased 24.6% in 1Q23 year over year. The U.K. was one of the weaker performers in the region.
• Italy: The Italian market increased 4.8% in 1Q23, with the increase in shipments due to laser, which rose 13.0%. Inkjet was flat and increased by 0.3%.
• Spain: HCP market shipments decreased by 5.2% in 1Q23, but laser shipments increased by 15.4% in 1Q23 and inkjet declined by 13.9% in unit shipments in 1Q23 year on year.

CT Bureau