PRINT
IT
RESELLER.UK
13
ACQUISITIONS
Mark Smyth, Operations Director, Vision
The acquisition
of Samsung’s
printer
business
allows us to
deliver print
innovation and
create entirely
new business
opportunities
with far better
efficiency,
security, and
economics for
customers
More questions than answers
Michael Burke, Managing Director, Burke
Systems and Solutions said that the first
he knew of the HP Inc. acquisition of
Samsung Print was on Monday morning
(12 September) when he received a phone
call from his Samsung Channel Manager.
He said that the news has sent a
shockwave through the organisation,
which is Samsung’s OA partner for
Northern Ireland. “It has certainly been at
the forefront of my mind since announced.
At this stage, there are more questions
than answers,” he explained. So far,
we have received no information from
Samsung,” he explained.
“While I don’t expect much to change
in the short to medium term, I would be
concerned about how HP plan to increase
their market share of the A3 market,”
Burke commented.
“They’ve stated they intend to ‘disrupt
and remodel’ a market they see as lacking
innovation for decades. When they start to
market the new A3 products through the
HP Partner network, we immediately face
a greater number of competitors selling
the same product portfolio. If this happens
it will have a commoditising effect on the
products with the inevitable erosion of
margin. However, if they stick with the
tried and tested method of appointing
authorised and accredited Partners who
are fully trained on products and solutions
and if they take a strategic viewpoint on
the geographical market, then this could
increase credibility with the products and
may actually enhance our opportunities
with a wider and diverse HP product
portfolio,” he added.
“In the immediate future we will of
course remain committed to the Samsung
print portfolio,” Burke said. “Ideally
Samsung in conjunction with HP would
have outlined joint plans for the next 12
months. I’ve spoken with a few Samsung
Partners and we’re all the same; in
considerable doubt and uncertainty as to
what happens next,” he concluded.
Exciting developments
Commenting on the news, Mark Smyth,
Operations Director at Vision said: “We
were initially aware of HP’s partnership
with Samsung to go to market with printer
technology from Samsung’s current line
up and the plan to launch a complete
new range of innovative, market leading
A3 print devices from HP. So when the
rumours of an acquisition hit the market,
we did assume like most, it was simply the
new OEM partnership.
“Come the announcement on
Monday 12 September and once we had
digested the news and fully understood
the dynamics and components of the
acquisition, we started to clearly identify
the opportunities and recognise the
market strength of two global and
leading printing brands coming together.
As a current Global Partner, we remain
committed to our partnership and the
exciting developments the new alliance
will present.”
Challenges ahead
Louella Fernandes, Associate Director at
Quocirca says that HP does have a strong
portfolio for the A3 space but it faces
challenges in integrating Samsung's A4
portfolio. “Its disruption of the A3 market
is based on displacing very established
competitors with a loyal client base and it
is hugely reliant on its channel to step up
and sell contractually for it to achieve any
measure of success,” she said.
“The majority of A3 copiers are sold
under a managed print service contract,
which typically includes proactive
maintenance and automated supplies
replenishment. With service delivery
being a key strength for many established
MPS vendors such as Canon, Ricoh and
Xerox, potential customers will need a
compelling reason, beyond serviceability,
to shift completely to an HP fleet. HP faces
challenges ahead, and absolutely needs its
channel fully engaged to gain any measure
of success in the market,” she added.
A significant event
In the context of how it will impact the
UK market, Toni Gibiino, Group Marketing
Director of independent reseller RDT Office
Solutions, said he would class the event
as significant in its contribution towards
transforming the market, adding that the
term ‘disruptive’ appears to be over-used
right now, for a number of reasons.
“HP Inc. have some work to do
structurally, in terms of connecting with the
traditional A3 copier/ MPS dealer channel,
when it comes to contractually focussed
resellers, rather than transactional,” he
said. “HP have certainly made some in-
roads with their MPS partner programme
in A4 over the last three years, but it’ll be
very interesting to see how they’ll integrate
the Samsung products into their offering.”
In Gibiino’s opinion, the battle for
market share won’t be won over who
has the best equipment or applications,
he believes that it’s going to come down
to pricing, engagement with the channel
resellers and the OEM’s marketing budget.
“Samsung created a strong blueprint in
many of these aspects. Structurally, how
they line up against the likes of Xerox,
Ricoh and Konica on A3 is going to be
important to the speed of their success.
Let’s be realistic, it’s not a case of ‘if’ they’ll
become a dominant A3 player, it’s more of
a ‘when’ discussion,” he added.
“The market is heading for further
consolidation. We’ve seen the number of
OEMs halve to 16 over the last 30 years
and I wouldn’t be surprised to see some
other big moves over the next 12 months,”
he predicted.
“It’s all being set-up for a Game of
Thrones style finale, as the pieces of the
puzzle begin to fall into place for the end
game. Who will be left standing? he said in
conclusion.
Toni Gibiino,
Group Marketing Director,
RDT Office Solutions
