VOX POP
PRINT
IT
RESELLER.UK
33
Andrew Hall,
Marketing Manager,
OKI Systems
(UK) Ltd
Nigel Allen,
Marketing Director,
KYOCERA
Document
Solutions UK
How big an issue is the counterfeit
supplies market?
Andrew Hall,
Marketing Manager,
OKI
Systems (UK) Ltd
:
“The imaging supplies
industry is a significant contributor to
the EU economy, generating some
€
41
billion and employing 100,000 people.
It’s estimated that counterfeit product
accounts for nearly 8% of revenues
generated by imaging supplies sales in
EMEA, rising to 50% in some Middle
Eastern countries.”
Nigel Allen,
Marketing Director,
KYOCERA Document Solutions UK
:
“The counterfeit market is vast, both
here in the UK and in the rest of Europe,
and it’s only getting bigger. What we’ve
observed is a concerning rise in the scale
of the problem, particularly over the last six
months, based on the number of fraudulent
goods we have seized and investigated in
that period.”
Kevin Weaver,
Vice President,
Brand
Protection, Xerox
:
“The US-based
Imaging Supplies Coalition (ISC) estimates
that the total impact of counterfeiting on
the imaging industry is $3 billion. A recent
study by the European Union Intellectual
Property Office (2016) indicated that the
total world trade in counterfeit and pirated
goods (all industries) represents 2.5% of
world trade, i.e. up to $461 billion. This
demonstrates the size and seriousness of
the issue facing all industries.”
Mark Ash,
Head of Print,
Samsung
:
“Counterfeit supplies have a detrimental
impact on multiple sectors, with print
manufacturers, channel partners, customers
and even tax payers being inadvertently
affected. In terms of how many counterfeit
products are actually out there, the market
share is very difficult to measure, but ICCE
reports that fake products have a share
of around 8% in EMEA, and the OECD
reports a market share of 5%.”
Have you been affected by the illegal
counterfeiting of your products?
Andrew Hall:
“Yes. This is a continuous
problem for Original Equipment
Manufacturers. OKI operates an ongoing
programme of anti-counterfeit activities
and is also the founding member of ICCE.”
Nigel Allen:
“We are currently
investigating a number of counterfeiting
cases. Last year we seized hundreds of
thousands of units, worth in excess of
€
10m. However, since April 2016, we’ve
seized over
€
5m worth of fraudulent
goods, suggesting that counterfeit goods
are becoming more prevalent across
Europe.”
Kevin Weaver:
“Yes, and we have
identified and taken action against
organisations and individuals dealing in
such goods – in both the manufacture
and distribution of such items. We work
with other OEMs in the industry; we share
intelligence and we train government
officials, police forces and other
enforcement agencies. We have raided
manufacturing plants and warehouses
around the globe, in South America, the
Middle East, Africa and Asia.”
As the Imaging Consumables Coalition of Europe, Middle East and Africa
(ICCE) warns that the industry is under threat from a
€
1.6 billion market in
counterfeit imaging supplies, our panel of experts assesses the scale of the
problem and offers advice on how to beat the counterfeiters.
The fight against
counterfeiters
Mark Ash:
“At Samsung, we haven’t
found fake products in Europe for the last
two years, but that doesn’t necessarily
mean they’re not out there. We have
been affected by patent infringements in
the past for consumable print products,
which we call ‘new built clones’, but we’re
making strides in protecting our intellectual
property and our customers’ print devices
from potentially damaging products.”
What are the biggest problems
associated with using counterfeit
supplies?
Andrew Hall:
“For the end-user,
counterfeit imaging supplies are proven to
cause downtime and damage to printing
devices. However, ultimately counterfeiting
is illegal and is thought to be connected
with more sinister criminal activities.”
Nigel Allen:
“Counterfeit imaging
supplies are often dangerous,
environmentally unfriendly and cheat
consumers of the quality they are entitled
to expect from branded consumables. The
counterfeiters will be involved in areas
such as people smuggling, drug trafficking
and organised crime.
Talking with our customers and
resellers, the most common complaints we
hear include streaky grey backgrounds,
drop off, uneven print quality and even
ghosting on the page (bits of the previous
page making an unwelcome appearance).
“More serious, and costly, is the
risk to devices. Non-genuine toner or
ink can damage good-quality printing
products and reduce the overall yield
of a machine. This means that the total
cost of ownership goes up, offsetting any
short-term benefits from cheap toner. In
The
counterfeit
market is vast,
both here in
the UK and
in the rest
of Europe,
and it’s only
getting bigger
Continued...
