IDC: New Zealand Market on Rise

There have been many developments in 3D printing as well as in other sectors of the printing market, despite the fact that over a year ago, the printer market was a little grey. Jensen Ooi, IDC market analyst for imaging, printing and document solutions, says the printer market in New Zealand has posted new growth recently which is expected to continue.

“It was anticipated that the overall New Zealand economy would do well in 2014 and, true enough, it has. As a result, the printer market in 1Q2014 registered a new peak in its growth patterns since 2012 for both consumer and commercial products.”

According to Ooi, end users are tending to choose fast, reliable and economical printers, so a large proportion of low- to mid-range printers are being sold.

IDC’s market research finds approximately 301,000 units of inkjet and laser printers were shipped in New Zealand in 2013, achieving a market value of nearly $220 million USD. Corporation reviews indicates growth is particularly registered in the SMB space. The large format printer business is currently on the rise, with the strong economy and great products from HP.

For future performance, Ooi states overall printer demand for 2014 seems optimistic and is expected to set a new record. This is due to the improved economy directly affecting the buying power of end users in a positive way.

IDC predicts the inkjet market will be dominated by HP, Canon, Brother and Epson while the laser sector by Brother, HP, Ricoh and Fuji Xerox. By the end of 2014, the market is anticipated to grow by a further 5% in terms of unit shipments.

“New Zealand is one of the smallest markets in the world for printers, considering that globally there were almost 110 million units of printers shipped in 2013.” says Ooi.

A key opportunity for resellers is picking up the annuity revenue of supplies business by offering a managed print service (MPS) which can be administered by the reseller or via a partner or vendor. Also, Ooi says the improvement of new inkjet models is an opportunity for the New Zealand reseller channel. A good example is Epson’s new inkjet heads which it claims combine the quality of inkjet with the speed of laser.

Ooi commented, “2014 is a great and exciting year for resellers” thanks to the economy,” adding that, “With various new models from various brands coming up and the rising market demand, resellers will have an exciting year to look forward to in terms of unit shipments.”