More Cracks Develop in the Clover Global Empire

More Cracks Develop in the Clover Global Empire

The hot topic for those attending The Recycler Live event in Prague was the news Clover Imaging Group (CIG) officially announced it would be exiting the European market as of June 2022.

The news came hot on the heels of the news broken by RT Media 18 days earlier, on May 1, that, “CIGroup Asia will cease remanufacturing and sales in the APAC region effective June 15, 2022.” That story was based on a letter from Vietnam signed by Robert Ross and Peter Costa which was sent to distributors and retailers dated April 30, 2022, saying, “We regret to inform you that CIGroup Asia Limited will be closing its business effective June 15th 2022.” It should be noted, that Actionable Intelligence subsequently reported (see “Clover Disputes RT Media Report about Asia-Pacific Market Exit”), that the plant in Vietnam “will remain operational but focus on products outside the imaging industry and that it would still be selling remanufactured cartridges in the region.” Presumably from its factory in Mexico.

Arguably CIG has been the biggest remanufacturer in Europe (on the basis that other large remanufacturers obtain their ready-for-market cartridges from North Africa or China), and the largest remanufacturer in North America. According to industry advocate, Tricia Judge, CIG grew “into the largest collector and remanufacturer of printer cartridges in the world.”

According to its official announcement on May 19, 2022, CIG “continues to see strong post-pandemic sales in the U.S., Canada, and Latin America and remains bullish about the opportunities in these markets. 100% of Clover Imaging’s focus and resources will be invested in growing sales in these regions.”

Actionable Intelligence in its report on May 19, 2022, quoted a CIG spokesperson as saying CIG will be closing “all European facilities in Portugal, Serbia, Germany, UK, and Switzerland and laying off employees there. Clover had about 250 employees in Europe.”

According to The Recycler, the delegates at its event in Prague discussed the “very unfortunate news of closures of sales offices and [the many] people losing their jobs” but also reported discussion over dinner included, “the future look[ing] bright and as one company exits, others see it as a new opportunity to grow.”

CIG has made it clear it would be investing 100% of its resources in the North American market—its largest and most important market and certainly still the largest imaging supplies market in the world.

Related:

• Clover Closes Operations in Asia Pacific

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