This Market Review on office equipment covers the markets for office furniture, printers and scanners, photocopiers and fax machines, and other office equipment. Included in this last market are: presentation equipment, such as projectors; business telephone systems; mailroom equipment; document preparation equipment, including binders and laminators; videoconferencing equipment; dictation machines; and shredders. Key Note estimates that, in 2003, the total UK office equipment market, as defined by this report, was worth £3.9bn at manufacturers' selling prices (msp), a rise of 0.8% on 2002.
Against a generally favourable economic background and a growing workforce, business confidence in the UK has been weakened by the threat of terrorism and the war in Iraq. These factors have delayed businesses from making investments in office building and refurbishment, and in renewing office equipment. The office furniture sector, despite the fact that it is aided by strict health and safety regulations, has been adversely affected by this trend. Between 2001 and 2003, the sector suffered a significant decline as a result of the tendency for organisations to defer refurbishment plans. However, confidence has improved in the latter part of 2003 and early 2004 and, consequently, the demand for office accommodation has increased. This has subsequently increased demand for office equipment.
There is strong competitive pressure in the majority of office equipment sectors. This, coupled with technological advances, has restricted price rises across most of the market and has caused prices to decrease in some sectors.
The printer sector has been boosted by demand for photo-quality colour for use with digital cameras, particularly in the home sector. Sales of single-function printers have been affected by the move to multifunction products (MFPs). However, printer manufacturers have moved into this sector and so have benefited from this trend.
In the photocopier and fax machines sector, growth in 2003 was led by desktop multifunction devices and by colour-capable equipment, which provides both monochrome and colour photocopying/
In the presentation products sector, there has been growth in the number of very lightweight digital projectors since 2000 and a pocket-sized subsector has emerged. The availability of a wide choice of lightweight models and falling prices have made this a dynamic product sector.
Between 2004 and 2008, Key Note forecasts that the office equipment market will show annual growth at current prices, with a total increase of 11.3% over the period. In particular, continued growth is expected for videoconferencing equipment, voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) telephone systems and multifunction office imaging devices. These are relatively immature product sectors and so have considerable potential for further growth
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