Issue #0621/2 - Hewlett-Packard responds to Dollar crash but adds some strategic price changes on top.
As anticipated for several weeks now, Hewlett-Packard has responded to the crashing US Dollar with a price adjustment on many of its printer supplies products.
Half of all supplies products are affected with an average reduction of just under 4%. Half might seem to be a small proportion but that is because the changes apply to inks and toner related supplies but not to media – and nearly half of Hewlett-Packard’s supplies products are media.
A higher percentage of laser product prices have been changed than inkjet product prices, 96% against 84%, but inkjet prices have been reduced more than laser prices.
Average inkjet reductions are 4.3% with a range from 3.2% to 10.8%, largely caused by rounding variations.
At 10.8%, this high percentage reduction is on twin-packs of the high-capacity No.339 black cartridge fitting many of the recent and current inkjet models. This is a nice concession to the higher volume users and helps to reduce printing costs for high volume business users.
Several other higher-than-average reductions, ranging from 7.5% to 9%, are made on other popular cartridge types – such as the Nos.15, 21, 27, 57 and selected No.88 cartridges.
Laser supplies are reduced by a smaller amount – average 3%, with a range from 0.8% to 5%, probably accounted for largely by rounding variations. There are no products that stand out as having received special treatment.
Percentage adjustments do vary slightly around Europe but the same overall principles have been applied across the region where Hewlett-Packard pricing is Euro linked.
In countries that are US Dollar linked, within Hewlett-Packard’s pricing system, strategic price increases of around 3% appear to have been made on selected toner cartridges for selected Colour LaserJet printers. These include the CLJ8500 series, CLJ4550, CLJ9500, CLJ1500, CLJ2500, CLJ2550, CLJ 3500 and CLJ3700.
By contrast, strategic reductions of up to 4.5% have been made in the same countries on the twin-packs for the No.56 and No.57 ink cartridges.
Hewlett-Packard is clearly succeeding in its aim to stabilise supplies prices following a period in which prices seemed to change almost every month. These changes are the first widespread changes for exactly one year.
This is good news – mainly for the channel because the frequency of adjustments meant that benefits were rarely passed on to the end customer – but also for the end customer because it should encourage the channel to pass on the reductions.
~End~
