IDC: Western European Hardcopy Market Reports Mixed Performance in Q1 2022

IDC: Western European Hardcopy Market Reports Mixed Performance in Q1 2022

Despite the continuing supply chain issues, the Western European hardcopy market reported a mixed performance in the first quarter of 2022 (Q1, 2022).

According to IDC, the overall market declined 16.3% year-over-year compared to Q1, 2021. When compared to the pre-pandemic quarter of Q1, 2020, however, the market remains effectively flat. Some volume and value OEMs have seen significant growth due to a range of factors such as improved go-to-market strategies, new price plans, effective supply chain management, and portfolios simply matching demand for the home and office.

“Now that lockdowns have ended, many suppliers will now switch their attention from the home back to the office, but these new opportunities are again being hampered by supply chain issues that are likely to continue throughout the year, for some at least,” said IDC.

In Q1, 2022, the inkjet shipment was 3.12 million units, the highest Q1 shipment in four years. This shows that demand for lower-cost consumer and office devices remains strong, but laser growth was severely restricted due to supply chain woes — with a shipment of 1.19 million the lowest Q1 shipment for more than 20 years.

“As workers return to their places of employment the demand for hardcopy devices remains strong, but the continuing supply chain issues for hardware and supplies are seriously hampering recovery for many suppliers. On the plus side, those with fewer issues are taking advantage and are seeing their sales and installed base increase,” said Phil Sargeant, senior program director, Western European Imaging, Hardware Devices, and Document Solutions Group, IDC.

Main highlights:

• Overall Western European hardcopy market declined 16.3% year on year in Q1, 2022; shipments were at 4.32 million units.
• Market value in Europe declined by 14.3% in Q1, 2022 to €2.10 billion (US$2.20 billion).
• Inkjet shipments declined 31.0% in Q4, 2021; consumer inkjets declined by 34.0% but business inkjets increased by 8.4%.
• Overall laser shipments declined by 15.9% year on year in Q1, 2022; color shipments declined by 18.5%, while monochrome shipments declined by 14.3%.
• Inkjet market contracted by 16.2%; consumer markets declined by 12.9% and business inkjets declined by 31.0%.

Main Country Highlights

Due to the supply chain issues, almost all the Western European hardcopy markets declined. The main country highlights include:

Germany

German shipments declined by 17.1% in Q1, 2022 for a market of 913,000 units — around 189,000 units below Q1, 2021 and 161,000 below the pre-pandemic quarter of Q1, 2020. All segments of the inkjet and laser markets contracted, including overall consumer and business markets. The only bright spot in Germany for the quarter was the increase in installations of high-speed inkjet devices. Germany remained the largest market, however.

France

French shipments declined year on year by 18.7% (or 185,000 units) to give a market size of 803,000 units — only 26,000 below the pre-pandemic quarter of Q1, 2020. As with Germany, all segments declined, but the inkjet market remained at the same level as Q1, 2020 as demand for low-end devices remained strong and business inkjets increased over the corresponding period.

The U.K.

U.K. shipments declined by 19.8% year on year (or 178,000 units) to give a market size of 720,000 units. Compared to the pre-pandemic market of Q1, 2020, the U.K. increased by 4.0% and in Q1, 2022 the A3 laser MFP and A3 laser printer markets increased year on year as more contracts were fulfilled; other laser segments and the consumer inkjet market suffered, however.

Italy

The Italian market declined by 15.0% for a market size of 575,000 units. This is a year-on-year decline of 100,000 units, but it is an increase from the pre-pandemic quarter of Q1, 2020. As with other countries, all segments declined as the supply chain issues affected most brands.

Spain

Spain’s shipments declined by 17.4% for a market size of 373,000 units. This is a decline of 80,000 units, but again it is higher than the pre-pandemic Q1, 2020. The only segment that showed any growth was the high-speed inkjet market.

Related:

• IDC: Western European Printer Market Continuously Hit by Supply Chain Issues
• IDC: Western European Printer and MFP Market Decline in Q3
• IDC: Review on 2021 China Print Consumables Market
• IDC: Global HCP Market Suffers Decline in Q4

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