Issue #0501/2
2.1) Inconsistent adjustments from Hewlett-Packard
2.2) Lexmark raises some prices in the UK while reducing others
2.3) No changes from Xerox in December or January
While most manufacturers have not changed supplies pricing, both Hewlett-Packard and Lexmark impose diverse adjustments.
As we have seen dramatically over the last year or so, supplies pricing in Europe and it associated markets (Middle East and Africa) are highly vulnerable to exchange rate fluctuations between local currencies and the Euro and between the Euro and the US Dollar.
2.1) Non-Euro, Non-Dollar exchange rate adjustments from Hewlett-Packard
This month we are seeing a number of pricing adjustments in several countries on the periphery of the European market, while there are no changes in the Euro zone or in the UK despite exchange rate fluctuations still indicating that reductions should be due.No doubt each of the three US manufacturers will be taking heart from the fact that the trend has reversed since the end of December and will see it as justification for not having reduced Euro or UK prices over the autumn timeframe (with some minor exceptions on the part of Lexmark – see TCPglobal Issue #0438 - "Price book confusion as exchange rates break records"), as the rate trends would have suggested. We will just have to wait and see if the reversal is here to stay or is just another blip in the graph.
Those countries experiencing adjustments are Cyprus, Czechia, Israel, Kazakhstan, Romania, Russia, Slovakia and Turkey. Following is a brief description of the adjustments with comment on the justification by exchange rate fluctuations.
Cyprus
There appears to be no apparent justification for increases of around 7% that have been applied in Cyprus. Exchange rates between the Cypriot Pound and the Euro are essentially stable (varying by only about 3% in the last five years).Over 2004, if any trend should be noticeable it should be gentle reduction in prices. However, the latest price increases of 7% come on top of increases of 7% imposed in November and a further 4.5% in December – almost 20% in just 3 months!
Czechia and Slovakia
Both of these formerly unified countries see wild variations in price adjustments from Hewlett-Packard this month. Most adjustments are downwards by up to 2% in Czechia and 1.5% in Slovakia.Adjustments are not consistent though and, on the basis that fairly consistent price reductions have been noted in Czechia over the year, mostly in line with exchange rate fluctuations (-6% in April; ~2.6% increase in June on inkjet and laser; -0.2% in October; -0.8% in November; and -0.1% in Dec), we can assume that there must be some local market conditions driving certain increases in these countries.
For instance, in Czechia there are increases as high as 15.9% (black toner for the LaserJet 5), while the colour toners for that printer are increased by 1% and toners for the Colour LaserJet 4600 are reduced by 1.8%.
Similarly, in Slovakia, black toner for the colour LaserJet 5 is increased by 6.7% while colour toners are reduced by 1.1% and toners for the colour LaserJet 4600 are reduced by 1.3% and 1.5%.
Business inkjets have also fared badly, with price increases of 1.8% on the inks for the 2000, 2200, 2500 and 2600 series and 0.2% on inks for the Business Inkjet 3000 series.
Israel
With reductions of around 2.2% applied in Israel, when the Israeli Sheqel has been weakening against the Euro since the beginning of September, we see an opposite price adjustment being applied to that suggested by the exchange rates. These reductions follow additional reductions of 1% in November and 0.5% in December.Exchange rates over the relevant period changed by 5.5% in favour of the Euro, meaning that local prices should be increasing.
Kazakhstan, Romania, Russia and Turkey
Price adjustments of +4.7%, -6.1%, +2.3% and +1% respectively in these countries all fit the movements in exchange rates.2.2) Lexmark UK introduces inconsistent prices changes on supplies
Although Lexmark has adjusted pricing on 90% of all supplies products for January 2005, with an average change of -2%, the adjustments are not consistent across, or within, the categories. Price changes range from reductions of 5.1% to increases of 5%.In the mono laser category, 85% of supplies prices have been changed, with an average change that falls on the overall average of -2%. However, while most cartridges have been reduced by between 1.8% and 4.2%, a couple of products have been reduced by as much as 5.1% (10K standard and return program cartridges for T420) and 27% of the changes are increases of 1.5% to 1.6%.
These increases include products such as the entire Linea range of cartridges for Hewlett-Packard printers, 5K cartridges for the T600 series, and cartridges for the T430 and E23x E33x, W812 and W820 printers and the X215, X830 and X832 laser All-in-One/MFP machines.
Colour laser supplies are similarly varied with 99% having changed by an average of -3%. Here we again see increases of 1.6%, this time on developers and fuser coating rollers for the C910/C912, on toners for the C752/C760 and also on a fuser unit and a waste toner collection bottle. Reductions range between 2.6% and 4.4% on almost all the other colour laser products.
Inkjet cartridges however, suffer an average price increase – of 1.6%. Every product is changed one way or the other, with most being increased (by up to 5%) even though some products are reduced by as much as 4.2%.
It is only the cartridges for the failed legacy business inkjet product (J110) that benefit from the significant decreases of 4.2%. All other products suffer the increases. As a generalisation, it is the low-yield cartridges that are increased most, while the high-yield cartridges get away with increases around 1.3% or 1.4%.
Lexmark does not have many paper products in its line-up and of that number, less than one third have pricing adjustments. These changes are 1.6% to 1.7% and are effective on transparency or laser glossy paper products.
Prices in the Euro zone remain unchanged from November 2004.
2.3) No changes from Xerox in December or January
Having increased a number of supplies prices in July 2004, against the currency trend, Xerox has persistently resisted making any reductions as the value of the US Dollar has progressively slithered away downhill against the Euro and the British Pound over the autumn.~End~
