By Louella Fernandes – HP Inc. has set the stage for its ambitious plans to seize market share in the A3 copier/MFP market. On the back of its announcement to acquire Samsung’s printer business in a transaction valued at $1.05 billion, it launched its new A3 multifunction printers (MFP) portfolio to much fanfare at its Global Partner Conference in Boston on 12th September.
HP claims its new A3 portfolio which includes 16 next generation HP PageWide and LaserJet platforms brings innovation to the traditional copier segment of the market which is estimated at $55 billion. HP is betting on the reliability, security and serviceability of its new devices to disrupt the market and help it increase its market share. Today it has just a 5% share of the A3 segment (the traditional copier market), compared to 40% share in the A4 printer market. But does HP have the technology and go-to-market strategy to successfully displace industry stalwarts such as Canon, Konica Minolta and Ricoh?
Learning from past mistakes
This is not HP’s first attempt to grab share in the mature A3 copier market. Following an unsuccessful attempt with it Edgeline technology, HP then established alliances with Canon and Sharp to fill gaps in its A3 portfolio. However, this was not enough to develop the broad portfolio needed to compete effectively. Now, HP has taken the bull by the horns with its acquisition of Samsung, which originally started out as an OEM deal to jointly develop an engine for HP’s new A3 portfolio. HP has stated that its relationship with Canon, which has supplied the engines for HP’s A4 devices for 30 years in a co-opetition agreement, will continue. However, its shift to Samsung engines raises questions for how HP will position and integrate the Samsung A4 portfolio, not forgetting that Canon will also be a formidable competitor in the A3 market.
