The South African laser and inkjet printer cartridge market showed strong growth in 2004, contrary to market expectations, says ICT market analyst firm BMI-TechKnowledge.
BMI-T released these findings in its annual laser and inkjet printer cartridge market report last week.
"The South African laser and inkjet printer cartridge market increased by 23.9% in 2004, with the OEM [original equipment manufacturer] market showing a tremendous lead over the non-OEM market, and gaining ever-increasing market share in the printer consumables arena," says Kerry Hayes, research analyst at BMI-T.
Research shows that OEMs hold almost 79% share of the consumables market.
"Non-OEMs are suffering the effects of a closing price gap between their own and original consumables as average selling prices drop, largely thanks to the rand`s strength against the US dollar," adds Hayes.
However, she notes that these market players aren`t going down without a fight and many vendors have indicated future plans to rally players in the non-OEM sector in an attempt to spur changes in the competitive environment.
In the overall printer cartridge market, BMI-T once again saw the colour segment coming out strongest. "The growth in the colour laser cartridge sector has been very strong as colour has risen in consumer esteem as a valuable asset, and this increased demand has assisted in the drop in price of colour devices and cartridges."
The monochrome laser segment also recorded strong growth overall. BMI-T relates this growth to business consumers` still strong preference for monochrome devices. The inkjet cartridge segment, although displaying the smallest percentage growth of the three technology segments, still holds the greatest market share of the printer cartridge market, of around 70%.
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