The only constant at Printacom is change for the better. According to the latest BMI-TechKnowledge Group/IDC South Africa Quarterly Printer Market Tracker for Q1 2003, Oki printers have once again shown solid growth and notched up sizeable gains within the dot matrix segment of the South African printer market.
"Oki has continued making gains in the local dot matrix market and has consolidated its position in second place overall," says Neil Rom, MD of Printacom, the sole importer for the Oki range of printers in SA.
"In terms of value shipped, Oki has garnered 31.2% of the market, a whisper away from its leading competitor at 36.4%."
The reason for this close position is that Oki has retained its strong market share position of the higher end of the dot matrix market with higher revenues generated from this.
"This increase is also reflected in its improved market share," according to Loretta Pein, BMI-TechKnowledge Senior Analyst, Personal Computing. "Oki now owns 24.4% of the total South African dot matrix market, more than double that of the third-placed competitor."
"These results are an accurate reflection of the efforts Printacom has made to grow the brand in SA," adds Rom. "We have not only focused on raising the awareness of Oki, but also expanded our partner programme.
"We have enhanced our channel`s ability to sell-through, improved training and product awareness exercises and these efforts have started showing results. Printacom continuously strives to provide value-added services to our customers, which is evident through the fine-tuning that has been made to our nationwide support infrastructure. We pride ourselves on ensuring that our customers get the finest performance and service from their Oki printers throughout their working lives," adds Rom.
He expects further advances to be made over the course of the year and additional gains to close the small gap between Oki and its leading competitor in the dot matrix market. "The status quo in the printer market is changing, and Oki is the force behind the change."
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As a division of the MB Technologies Group, Printacom is the sole importer of the Oki range of printers to the South African reseller channel.
With Oki ranked among the top three printer brands worldwide, Printacom focuses on offering high-end internationally recognised business printing solutions to corporate companies. It is this performance and reliability that attracts 60% of the market share in the high-end dot matrix market in SA.
Oki has achieved many local channel accolades over the past months, these include: Channel Champion 2002, Okipage 14ex Editors Choice award and the Lab`s Choice award for colour.
More information about Printacom is available at http://www.printacom.co.za.
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