The worldwide hardcopy peripherals (HCP) market declined for the first time in the past three quarters to 25,5-million units shipped in the second quarter of 2014 (2Q14), resulting in a -2,3% year-over-year decrease, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals Tracker.
Some notable market developments in this quarter include:
* Two of the biggest regions in terms of HCP shipments, Asia/Pacific, excluding Japan (APeJ) and Western Europe, showed positive year-over-year gains, 0,4% and 5%, respectively. Growth in APeJ was driven by China, which represents nearly half of the region’s shipments. This was also the fifth consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth for the region.
* Three of the top five vendors (Epson, Samsung, and Brother) enjoyed positive year-over-year growth. Both Epson’s and Brother’s growth were driven largely by gains in APeJ.
* Samsung overtook HP as the laser market leader in Western Europe. Samsung is very strong in the low-end, and tends to market its products on price. It also has strong operations in Germany and Italy where it performs particularly well. In addition, distributors and dealers tend to trade HP and Samsung off with each other and sales fluctuate as a result.