Epson has maintained its spot as the market leader in the Philippine home and office printer market with 50.7%. According to IDC, the Phiippine hardcopy peripherals market recorded a 9.8% year-on-year and 5.2% quarter-on-quarter growth in the first quarter of 2022 despite the shortage of raw materials in the fourth quarter of 2021 and the surge of COVID-19 cases in early 2022.
IDC says that other companies continue to experience stock challenges affecting their ink cartridge and ink tank lineups. Meanwhile, Epson L-series printer models continue to hold the largest share in the company’s inkjet SKUs.
The rise in demand and sales are strongly attributed to inkjet printers, which brought in a 13.9% year-on-year growth. Laser printers, however, did not fare as well in the market with IDC reporting sales dropping 32.2% from last year.
“In spite of the slowdown in demand with spending decline towards the end of 2021, the COVID-19 surge due to the omicron variant, and even the ongoing stock issues experienced the global printer market, there seems to be no long-lasting effect on the overall printer demand,” said Lilibeth Agudo, IPDS market analyst, IDC Philippines. “However, it definitely challenged HCP suppliers and providers to be more resourceful in their allocations and offerings to assure that demands are being met without compromising too much on performance and quality.”
Amid these obstacles, Epson has doubled down on its offers to properly maintain relationships and communicate with its partners regarding supply chain updates. In addition, the Philippine HCD remains optimistic as sales and demand opportunities arise due to sectors reopen and shift towards flexible and hybrid setup.
