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PERIPHERALS: GROWING, GROWING, BUT NOT As they should

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DQC Bureau
New Update

Fiscal 2001-02 was modest year for the impact printer segment, with total sales of 3,38,639 units, valued at Rs 431 crore. And though there was a six percent decline in units against the previous year’s 3,61,178, the segment grew by three percent in value terms, from Rs 420 crore in the previous year to Rs 431 crore. An interesting point was that old-time impact players like Wipro ePeripherals (WeP) and TVSE fought a close contest, but both lost ground to vendors like Lipi. Wipro’s sales declined by 17 percent while TVSE registered a negative growth of nine

percentm. 

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Despite the fall in units, WeP overtook TVSE in value by posting Rs 150 crore from 1,16,155 units. TVSE sold more units (1,22,500) but its valuation was only Rs 121 crore. This was because WeP was able to push higher-end DMPs. Lipi entered the high-end DMP category and garnered Rs 79.2 crore from 3,834 units. 

Through its R and D initiative, TVSE designed its own print-head, and this gave it a significant competitive edge in the DMP space. 

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Despite a flat growth rate in 2001-02, impact printer vendors can now look ahead to better times ahead. Major DMP consumption is still on in the government sector and banks.

MORE DOESN’T MEAN MERRIER



Inkjets bore the brunt of the slowdown with a fall of eight percent in units and 20 percent in value terms. An estimated 4,36,500 inkjets were sold in the Indian market in 2001-02, compared to 472,165 units the year before. While unit sales decreased, values crashed 20 percent from Rs 326 crore to Rs 260 crore in fiscal 2001-02. The fall in value came from slackening prices. 

The market movers for inkjets were mainly the SOHO and home segments, which together made up 70 percent of the revenues. Large companies and the government sector shared the remaining 30 percent. 

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HP remained the undisputed leader in this segment, with a marketshare of 76 percent, followed by Epson with 14 percent. Canon, meanwhile, gave stiff competition to Epson, doubling its marketshare from to three percent to five percent in 2001-02. Other players like Lexmark, Olivetti, WeP and Xerox managed a cumulative 6 percent

marketshare.

LASERS: SLOW, YET STEADY



Lasers grew by 22 percent, with an estimated 84,337 units sold at a value of Rs 239 crore. HP dominated with a marketshare of 77 percent, while Samsung captured 13 percent and Xerox followed with four percent. Other players-Lexmark, Wipro, Canon and Epson-shared the remaining 10 percent of the market.

The laser market might see further growth this year as top vendors go all out to push volumes. 

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Vendor-wise, HP has the most powerful brand image in the laser circuit, while Samsung, seen as the most proactive, is strategizing to emerge as a one-stop peripherals shop. WeP has also chalked out an ambitious strategy for laser printers, based on the FMCG model, with 4,000 retail outlets.

MONITORS: INCHING AHEAD



Fiscal 2001-02 was the year of 15-inch monitors, which dominated both in units and value terms, with sales spurting by 66 percent. The 14-inch, definitely on its way out, made up only 20 percent of total sales, while 17 and 21-inch monitors together appreciated from eight percent to 14 percent–the primary demand for the latter two came from users upgrading to larger monitors and first-time buyers. 

The monitor market, which grew by five percent, crossed the Rs 1,000-crore mark in 2001-02. Samsung’s aggressive campaign allowed it to retain its leadership with 50 percent marketshare, with LG coming in next with 20 percent. Other players like Viewsonic, Samtel, Philips and Hansol shared the rest.

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HDDS: SIZE DOES MATTER



In 1998, an HDD of 4GB was entry-level. Four years from then, the entry-level capacity for HDD has grown ten times and is at 40GB. Seagate captured a marketshare of 60 percent by selling the maximum number of

HDDs. 

Samsung’s share stood at around 30 percent. Western Digital, Maxtor and Fujitsu occupied the rest of the market. Interestingly, HDD sales were higher than PC volumes in 2001-02.

SCANNERS: UMAX’S PAIN, HP’S GAIN



According to market intelligence reports, 1,00,000 scanners were sold in India in fiscal 2001-02. On an average, 25,000 scanners moved every quarter. In March 2002, the scanner segment generated revenues of Rs 60

crore.

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Umax’s marketshare fell to 30percent in 2001-02, from 40 percent in the previous year. 

Cashing in on Umax’s woes was HP, which ended the fiscal with 45percent of the marketshare. The rest of the market was divided between Microtek and Canon. 

ODDS AND UPS’



That ubiquitous silver platter, the CD-ROM, still rules the optical disk drive (ODD) market in the country, with 70 percent marketshare. CD-Rs, CD-RWs and DVD-ROMs occupied the remaining 30percent. The CD-ROM segment is currently valued at Rs 300

crore.

Samsung emerged as the clear winner here with 60 percent share, followed by LG and HP. APC, Wipro, TVSE and Powerware dominated the UPS market. However, there are more than 100 players comprising the Rs 1,000-crore plus market. Given the dismal power situation in the country, UPS players are confident that this segment will grow at an over-25 percent

CAGR. 

To capitalize on this demand, vendors are strengthening distribution models, manufacturing capabilities and product designs. 



Courtesy: DQ Top 20

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