(Weymouth, MA) August 1, 2005…Office products resellers are quickly expanding their house brand laser and inkjet cartridge offerings in their stores and catalogs while eliminating other well-known brands. These resellers are working with aftermarket manufacturers to offer cost-effective alternatives for higher-priced OEM supplies, forcing traditional aftermarket suppliers to abandon their own brands and occasionally relinquish control of their own products. This new wave of house-branded products will contribute to dramatic changes in pricing, market share, product design, and marketing across the imaging supplies industry.

To assist OEMs, aftermarket suppliers, and resellers in understanding the impact and opportunity for house brand imaging supplies, InfoTrends/CAP Ventures has announced the launch of a new multi-client study entitled Store and House Brands – Disrupting the Imaging Supplies Industry.

This study will focus on house brands for personal and workgroup imaging supplies in the inkjet cartridge, monochrome/color laser toner cartridge, copier toner, and photo inkjet paper product segments. These products are a key source of profits for OEMs, third-party vendors, and office product resellers and represent a $28 billion opportunity in the U.S. market during 2005.

“The recent surge in house branding of imaging supplies among the major resellers may be the most disruptive trend to impact the imaging supplies industry within the past ten years or more,” commented John Shane, a Director at InfoTrends/CAP Ventures. “It drastically shakes up the power relationships between the OEMs, aftermarket manufacturers, and resellers. Our study will offer strategic recommendations for vendors and resellers on how to cope with or take advantage of these imminent changes.”

InfoTrends/CAP Ventures’ research will answer critical questions that will shape how companies move ahead with product development and sales and marketing initiatives. These questions include:

• How do customers value the brand of imaging supplies?
• Are store brands trusted as wholeheartedly as OEM brands?
• What factors cause customers to switch?
• How do customers manage empty cartridges?
• How do house brands impact margins for resellers/aftermarket suppliers/OEMs?
• What is the size and growth potential of the house brand imaging supplies market by key product and market segment?
• To what extent are house brands impacting OEM share?
• What might OEMs do to counteract this?
• How might aftermarket suppliers adapt?
• For what channels/chains are house brands appropriate?

Primary research for the study will consist of 2,000 structured surveys with office equipment users and decision-makers to better understand the value that customers place on brands, product performance, and pricing. The survey group will include participants from corporate environments, small and medium-sized businesses, and residential/consumer groups. In-depth interviews will be conducted with imaging supplies decision-makers, industry vendors, and resellers to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges that these groups face.

In addition to the research, InfoTrends/CAP Ventures will provide market size and forecasts for personal and workgroup imaging supplies by key product, channel, market, and brand categories.

To learn more about this study or to sign up as a participant, contact Scott Phinney at , ext. 123 or via e-mail at . Early subscriber discounts are available until September 15, 2005.