IBISWorld Says Copier, Printer, Equipment Sales Faced 5 Tough Years

According to market research firm IBISWorld, the copier, printer and office equipment wholesaling business suffered tough market conditions from 2008 to 2013. IBISWorld claims the decline of industry revenue in the past 5 years was caused by low business sentiment and a decrease in the number of businesses, driven by a recession that reduced the demand for new and replacement office equipment. Since 2008, the overall revenue has declined 0.6% annually to $37.2 billion. But demand has picked up slowly since 2010. As the US economy began its slow recovery, the number of businesses, and corporate profits, rose.

IBISWorld expects a 9.9% revenue increase in copier, printer and office equipment wholesaling in 2013 due to “an increase in the number of new businesses and a rising business sentiment index, manifesting in greater demand for new office equipment.”

According to IBISWorld Industry Analyst Zeeshan Haider, “In addition to weakened downstream demand, revenue for wholesalers has been hampered by the practice of wholesale bypass, whereby manufacturers forego wholesale distributors entirely and sell directly to retailers.” This wholesale bypass will restrain industry revenue growth over the next 5 years.