Western European shipments of hardcopy peripherals declined 4.3% year over year to 4.1 million units in Q1, 2023, according to IDC.

There was an improvement in product availability, enabling back-order fulfillment, but in some cases, strong sales to distributors in Q4, 2022 led to a slowdown in shipments from some vendors to the channel in Q1, 2023. 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 Q1, 2023 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 Q1, 2023 year over year.
• Colour inkjet shipments decreased by 11.8% in Q1, 2023 year on year; monochrome inkjet increased by 77.2% in Q1, 2023 year over year, but this accounted for less than 20,000 units.
• Colour laser increased by 37.1% in Q1, 2023 year over year, while monochrome was flat with an increase of only 0.4% in Q1, 2023 year over year.
• HP maintains overall market leadership, with 38.8%. Epson increased from 20.4% in Q1, 2022 to 20.7% in Q1, 2023, 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 Q1, 2023, colour 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 Q1, 2023, with both inkjet and colour laser segments showing year-on-year increases. The German inkjet market increased by 15.7% in Q1, 2023 year over year, while the laser segment increased 14.7%.
• France: The HCP market decreased by 10.8% in Q1, 2023. Inkjet decreased 15.7% in Q1, 2023, but laser segments grew 7.5%. Despite the overall quarterly decreases, colour laser increased by 19.6%.
• The U.K.: Total shipments declined in Q1, 2023 by 16.0% as inkjet decreased 24.0% year over year, but laser increased 24.6% in Q1, 2023 year over year. The U.K. was one of the weaker performers in the region.
• Italy: The Italian market increased 4.8% in Q1, 2023, 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 Q1, 2023, but laser shipments increased by 15.4% in Q1, 2023 and inkjet declined by 13.9% in unit shipments in Q1, 2023 year on year.

(Quote from RT）