According
to IDC, the Western European printer and multifunction (MFP) market shipment
increased 18.9% to 5.15 million units in the first quarter of 2021 (Q1 2021),
compared with the same period a year ago.
This
is the third quarter in a row that the HCP market increased in Western Europe
in unit shipments. The possible reason is that more tenders and contract
renewals took place in the office, market values held firm. This Q1 shows the
best performance (YOY) in the past 6 years. The demand for inkjet devices was a
very important element to boost sales. At the meanwhile, while laser shipments
continued to contract in most countries, though there were pockets of growth.
“Demand
for low-cost devices remains strong going into 2021 and some suppliers have
seen their best quarterly performance for many years,” said Phil Sargeant,
program director in IDC’s Western European Imaging, Hardware Devices, and
Document Solutions group. “This growth is largely driven by continued lockdown
demand, but some countries are now seeing their mainstream office shipments
increase as many more institutions open up and tenders and contract renewals
continue to be fulfilled.”
Main highlights:
The
overall Western European hardcopy market increased 18.9% year on year in Q1,
recording shipments of 5.15 million units.
The
value for the Q1 market in Europe increased by 0.9% to €2.07 billion.
Inkjet
shipments increased 29.6% in Q1, with consumer and business devices increasing
by double-digits.
Laser
shipments declined 2.1% for the quarter as colour shipments declined, while
monochrome showed slight increases.
SDM
shipments increased in the first quarter but remain small in comparison to
other technologies.
Main Country Highlights
Despite
overall growth in the Western Europe HCP market, country performances vary,
some showing strong growth and others showing declines. The main country
highlights are shown below:
Germany
Germany
increased in Q1, but at a much lower rate than in other countries. Germany was
the largest market in Western Europe in Q1. The 3.0% rise was due to increases
in inkjet products, especially business inkjets, but laser shipments suffered a
double-digit decline with both colour and monochrome contracting. A3 colour
laser shipments almost recovered to previous levels, however.
France
France
recorded strong growth of 19.1% for unit shipments, with market values showing
a solid performance. Inkjets increased by a quarter, with consumer and business
inkjets showing strong growth. Laser shipments were flat. Although most
shipments were from monochrome A4 printers and MFPs, A3 colour laser MFPs
recovered to show growth for the first time in over a year.
The U.K.
The
U.K. was one of the strongest performers in Q1. The market increased 29.9% for
unit shipments but market values contracted by double-digits. This was due to
the fact that lower-cost inkjet shipments increased by a third and monochrome
A4 shipments also increased, but the higher-value A3 MFP shipments declined by
more than a third. High-speed inkjet devices also increased.
Italy
The
Italian market grew by more than a quarter, again largely due to an inkjet
increase, but laser markets bounced back, leading to an increase in market
value. Consumer inkjets were strong and for laser devices both A4 and A3
shipments increased due to strong MFP shipments, indicating that the office
markets in Italy are on the road to some recovery.
Spain
Spain’s
shipments increased by more than a third and market values also grew. Spain
followed the trend in most countries with increases in inkjet devices,
especially consumer and business inkjets, but growth in the laser market was
due to large increases in monochrome A4 MFP devices. However, A3 markets continued to
contract.
