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(Weymouth, MA) November 25, 2008 . . . InfoTrends’ Digital Peripherals Solutions Europe Consulting Service has released its annual device forecast with revised data based on the recent economic downturn. InfoTrends Director Zac Butcher commented, “Ordinarily, early November would be considered rather late to publish a forecast. Had this forecast been published earlier, however, it would not have incorporated the unprecedented worldwide economic developments that have occurred recently. As the dust is starting to settle, we believe that the revisions we have made to our future market expectations will deliver real value to our clients that are reassessing their forward looking positions.” In addition to taking into account these very significant events, this year’s forecast also reflects the convergence of printing, copying, scanning, and image communications enabled by digital technology, as this is expected to continue through 2012. Butcher stated, “We believe that the time has come to view the document device market as a single entity. We consider A3 and A4 to be categories, or sub-sets, within the total market, and the legacy printer and copier view of the world is becoming increasingly irrelevant. Nevertheless, we understand that many of our clients are in the process of making this transition, so we have continued to support the traditional copier and printer segmentation of the data.” InfoTrends’ revised forecast estimates that the Western European laser office device market will decline at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of -3.12% from 2007 to 2012. The decline for 2008 is projected to be a bit steeper at -4.12%, as it will be compounded by the severity of the economic uncertainty and contraction that has surfaced in the major Western European markets. Although the situation is expected to improve by 2010, underlying market trends including a shifting vendor focus from devices placed to pages captured, the desire for clients to operate in more environmentally sustainable ways, and the anticipated proliferation of Managed Print Service deployments is expected to contribute to a continued downward trend in regard to the actual number of devices placed. With the severe price erosion of recent years and the proliferation of entry-level devices, it is likely that the Western European market is somewhat overinflated in terms of machines in the field. InfoTrends anticipates that the market will return to a more sustainable natural equilibrium as businesses of all size seek to rationalise and manage costs aggressively. As the forward thinking manufactures understand that it is preferable to capture all pages within a given customer environment rather than focus on placing as many devices as possible, the concept of actually selling less equipment is starting to gain a foothold. All of these trends are placing downward pressure on new device placements across the board. These factors are expected to outweigh any upside influence, such as a shift to lower value equipment during a recession and the replacement of individual A3 devices with more than one A4 device. InfoTrends’ DPSE Forecast provides data for the Western European office equipment market from 2006 to 2012 segmented by country, function, speed range, and color capacity. This report is available immediately for purchase. For more information visit our online store or contact Robyn Wuori at ext. 103 or via e-mail at . InfoTrends, a Questex company, is the leading worldwide market research and strategic consulting firm for the digital imaging and document solutions industry. We provide research, analysis, forecasts, and advice to help clients understand market trends, identify opportunities, and develop strategies to grow their businesses. Additional information about InfoTrends is available on the Web at www.infotrends.com. Copyright © 2008 InfoTrends. All rights reserved. Reproduction or reuse of InfoTrends materials is strictly prohibited without prior written consent. If you are interested in referencing InfoTrends content, please submit your request to . |
