Inking a Steady Growth

Though the status of the

printer industry always has a direct bearing on the consumable

market, in India consumables have witnessed a very hygienic and

uniform growth over the past few years. Things are taking good shape

for everyone involved in the Indian ink and toner market and the pie

is large enough to distribute decent share to all. The future too

looks bright with uninterrupted growth, at least for next five years

as paperless office is still a distance dream. Rather the truth is

that the demand for printing needs is on the rise. With the rise of OEM

market share and formation of a more organized re-manufacturer and

refiller industry, the market for fake or counterfeit cartridges has

shrunk further. Better ink quality and affordable pricing offered by

the refillers has posed a big threat to the grey market which is now

practically concentrated in smaller towns of India and neighboring

markets like Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.


While the OEMs has done a

commendable job by increasing user awareness on genuine ink usage and

increased their market share over the last three years, yet they have

a long way to go and has to catch up with the ever growing consumable

market growth. Pricing and availability are two factors which the

OEMs still needs to focus on. Though roughly it is estimated that the

OEMs has around 60 percent market share in India, as per a recent

international study it was revealed that 68 percent of the consumable

market in India is still fed by grey/compatible/refilled inks.

Although there is no organized data available to measure the correct

size of the ink and toner market in India, it is clear that the

potential is huge. Meanwhile

with the advent of the after-market organized re-fillers or

re-manufacturers like Cartridge World, Abbeefill and Re-feel the OEMs

have bigger competition to deal with. Sensing the untapped potential

in the consumable business, the organized refillers have been pretty

proactive in expanding their reach across the country. Re-feel today

has around 110 stores while Cartridge World has about 90 showrooms.

Interestingly recession played a big role towards the benefit of the

organized refillers as cost cutting was the predominant buzzword.

Moreover, like the OEMs, the organized refillers too are carrying out

aggressive branding and end-user awareness activities focusing on

cost-effectiveness, quality assurance and post sales service. While

the genuine cartridge consumption is increasing rapidly, the growth

of these re-manufactured/refilled ink players is also noteworthy. The

need of the hour is to differentiate between organized compatible

business and the grey market.