Though the status of the printer industry always haS a direct bearing on the
consumable market, in India consumables have witnessed a very hygienic and
uniform growth over the past few years, and FY 2010 was no different. Things are
taking good shape for everyone involved in the Indian ink and toner market and
the pie is large enough to distribute decent share to all. The future too looks
bright with uninterrupted growth, at least for next five years as paperless
office is still a distance dream. Rather the truth is that the demand for
printing needs is on the rise.
The total domestic consumable industry in last fiscal was pegged at ` 3467
crore, which is a modest 15 percent growth over the previous fiscal. With the
slight decline shown by the printer market, this was understandable. With the
rise of laser printer adoption among the Indian enterprises as well as SMEs
demand for laser toner cartridges continued to grow. The laser consumables
maintained its dominance in the market and secured a share of almost 60 percent
and a growth rate of over 20 percent. The traditional ink-jet cartridge
technology continued to hold its existing market share of 35 percent. Although
the overall growth of ink-jet cartridges remained more or less same, it gained
traction in certain pockets due to rise in printing demands in the home and SOHO
segments as well as in the interior markets. With the growth of retail, PSUs and
other organized businesses, the demand for DMP cartridges remained healthy and
despite it being a dying technology, the DMP inks captured a good share of seven
percent of the overall consumable market in India.
Innovative Trends
2009-10 was the year of extensive marketing campaigns that were initiated by
both the OEMs and the organized refillers. Epson started a campaign called thINK
with a focus on enhancing consumer awareness towards using original inks. In
order to increase its original ink customer base the company introduced high
quality inks with affordable prices. The campaign proved to be highly successful
as Epson's customers using genuine consumable grew by 50 percent and its overall
consumable business grew by 30 percent.
Similarly Canon introduced OIC (Original Ink Center), a retail platform
offering for its customers to buy genuine cartridges. The OIC concept was
launched in India to promote the usage of original inks. These stores basically
are a one-stop-shop for all Canon consumables with the focus products being
inks. The centers have also provided impetus for the growth of Canon consumables
business in India. The initiative helped Canon to achieve 47 percent growth in
its laser and inkjet ink business.
Even organized refillers like Re-feel initiated various marketing campaigns
to attract consumers. 'Cut your cost or the cost will cut you' was a campaign
focused around SMEs and corporate highlighting the cost aspect. The campaign was
promoted extensively through web mailers, corporate brochures and SMS.
FY 2010 was also the year of innovation in the ink business. Epson introduced
new technology on water resistance and long lasting ink for photo printing. Its
DURABrite Ultra Ink is a pigment-based formula that provides superior water,
smudge and fade resistance, while Claria photographic ink is a 6-colour ink
technology that delivers unsurpassed image quality and long-lasting results in
photo printing. Samsung launched its new range of laser printer (ML 1640) with
specific chips that are programmed to use original toners only. Canon made a
huge impact by introducing Selphy printer range that uses dye-sublimation
thermal printing technology. The company claims to have achieved 300 percent
growth in this consumable segment. The last fiscal also saw significant growth
in consumable consumption in Tier two and three cities as most of the OEMs
shifted their focus from the big cities to the smaller towns which holds immense
potential of business growth.
OEMs vs Remans/Refillers
With the rise of OEM market share and formation of a more organized
remanufacturer and refiller industry, the market for fake or counterfeit
cartridges has shrinked further. Better ink quality and affordable pricing
offered by the refillers has posed a big threat to the grey market which is now
practically concentrated in smaller towns of India and neighboring markets like
Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.
While the OEMs has done a commendable job by increasing user awareness on
genuine ink usage and increased their market share over the last three years,
yet they have a long way to go and has to catch up with the ever growing
consumable market growth. Pricing and availability are two factors which the
OEMs still needs to focus on. Although roughly it is estimated that the OEMs has
around 60 percent market share in India, as per a recent international study it
was revealed that 68 percent of the consumable market in India is still fed by
grey/compatible/refilled inks. Although there is no organized data available to
measure the correct size of the ink and toner market in India, it is clear that
the potential is huge.
Abbeefill and Re-feel the OEMs have bigger competition to deal with. Sensing
the untapped potential in the consumable business, the organized refillers have
been pretty proactive in expanding their reach across the country. Re-feel today
has around 110 stores while Cartridge World has about 90 showrooms.
Interestingly recession played a big role towards the benefit of the organized
re-fillers as cost cutting was the predominant buzzword. Moreover, like the
OEMs, the organized re-fillers too are carrying out aggressive branding and end
user awareness activities focusing on cost effectiveness, quality assurance and
post sales service. While the genuine cartridge consumption is increasing
rapidly, the growth of these re-manufactured/refilled ink players is also
noteworthy.
Source: DQ
Piyali Guha
maildqindia@cybermedia.co.in