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COMMENT
Steve Hawkins,
Group Managing
Director, Xeretec
Paul Leach,
IS Sales Director UK,
Sharp UK
Colin Griffin,
Managing Director,
Blackbox
Paul Leach, IS Sales Director UK, Sharp
UK believes it’s too early to truly know
how the economic impact of Brexit
is going to affect consumables and
hardware pricing, and in turn dealer
margins. He said: “At Sharp we are
continuing to monitor the situation.
Irrespective of how this situation
plays out, dealers need to be focusing
on developing their capabilities and
customer offerings beyond just MFP/
MPS in order to grow their business
and secure longer term relationships.
“One way dealers should be
approaching this is by thinking about
addressing their customers’ biggest
concerns; namely how they can reduce costs,
how they can digitise processes and how
they can increase sales,” he said.
Derek Jones, Managing Director, Synaxon
agrees with Leach’s view that it is too early
to say what the long-term impact might be
on pricing of hardware and consumables,
and its effect on the group’s dealer and
MSP members. “We have already seen some
minor price increases due to the weakening
of the pound, but I don’t believe the impact
is, or will be major.”
Scott Walker Head of Business
Development at ZenOffice MPS said that the
honest answer is that no one knows what
the impact on pricing will be. “Around five
per cent of total revenue for Xerox comes
from the UK. However, as Xerox are the
global leaders in what they do, I have no
doubt that there’ll be a close eye on them.
They also have a number of manufacturing
and engineering facilities in the UK which is
a huge benefit to resellers like ZenOffice,”
he said.
Vision has approached the UK vote to
leave the European Union and the potential
business impact it could generate, with
caution. “Friday 24th June resulted in some
purchases from the supply chain becoming
immediately more expensive by as much as
20 per cent due to currency fluctuations,”
Operations Director Mark Smyth explained,
adding: “Whilst it is quite early on in the
process, we have already made some
preliminary business adjustments and are
closely monitoring currency and pricing
fluctuations and impact on margins.”
“Currency changes and their impact
are clearly a concern for customers and
the providers in this industry,” said Steve
Hawkins, Group Managing Director, Xeretec.
“Personally, I think that there have been
currency price pressures for the past twelve
months where the majority of manufacturers
have had to increase pricing. These impacts
have already affected the marketplace.”
Hawkins believes there are likely to
be further challenges given the uncertain
impact of Brexit on currency levels.
“However, most manufacturers have
sophisticated currency management
processes and are mitigating the impact
over the short term. As stability and
confidence starts to return, I hope the
impacts will therefore be managed through
and thus be minimal,” he said.
Impact on end-users
Vision has already seen major manufacturers
issue price increases of approximately 10
per cent. “We are poised and ready to make
changes should we deem it’s necessary,”
Smyth said. “We, along with many business
The day after Britain voted to leave the European Union the pound fell to
its lowest level since 1985. With a weaker currency making imports more
expensive,
PrintIT Reseller
explores the impact on consumables and hardware
pricing. Will it have an effect on the prices end-users are currently paying under
MPS agreements and what does it mean for dealers’ margins?
How will Brexit affect
the print industry?
will simply not be able to sustain potential
impacts and increases in costs and therefore
will have to pass on some costs to clients.”
In contrast, Blackbox hasn't had any
noticeable effects so far following the UK’s
referendum vote to leave the EU. Managing
Director Colin Griffin said that its suppliers
always ensure they have an adequate stock
of appliances and are still able to fulfil
orders within their 24 hour policy. “We’ve
therefore been able to maintain our current
prices at this stage, ensuring that our clients
are still receiving good value and a quality
service from Blackbox,” he said.
Sharples Group also reports that it
hasn’t seen any adverse effects yet. Sales
Director David Griffiths attributes this to its
manufacturer suppliers’ strategy of providing
aggressive pricing structures which has so
far protected both the firm’s margins, and
the price that the end-user pays, but he does
question how long this can be maintained.
As for the long-term effect on end-users,
those currently under an MPS agreement,
according to Walker, will not be affected.
“These agreements are already in place, the
equipment is in place and the solution is in
place, so there’s nothing else to adversely
influence a current contract,” he explained.
However, he cautioned: “That’s not to
say that customers who are due to come
to the end of their contract could not
be impacted by rising import costs etc.
It’s the job of the reseller to ensure they
work in partnership with their new and
existing clients to design and implement
the best solution possible. MPS is evolving
from simply looking after the service and
maintenance of printing equipment, to
including more and more automation/
document management software.”
“Without a doubt, the Brexit vote
and associated currency fluctuations will
influence the future cost of producing
copies and of course will affect the cost
of hardware, said Matt Goodall, Service
Director, Office Evolution. He believes that
the critical issue will be the precise terms
of any associated copy contract. “The
key question is whether your prices are
fixed, as many customers now choose, or
are you restricted to a maximum number
of increases, or a percentage increase in
prices?”
