Image source: Memjet
Printer manufacturer Memjet is expanding the distribution of its C6000 series printers in the Australia and New Zealand markets as well as in Western Europe, with some new partnerships recently announced in those regions.
Australian IT publication ARN reports that Memjet is returning to its Australian roots through a partnership with Dynamic Supplies. The Queensland-based distributor already offers hardware from a number of OEMs including Canon, Fuji Xerox, Kyocera, and Samsung. Dynamic Supplies’ model will involve a channel program that offers rewards and rebates to resellers willing to make larger quarterly commitments, offering a margin potential of 40 to 50 percent.
Shortly after that report emerged, a similar distribution partnership was announced in Europe; specifically Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. Independent distributor Printberry and CompaTech, a leading distributor of remanufactured OEM consumables for laser and inkjet printers, will become distributors for Memjet-powered C6000 series printers in those countries.
The distribution agreements mark a continued change of path for Memjet, whose strategy was to be a “technology partner,” providing its print engines to other OEMs. The company had seen some success overseas with its office products, with partners such as Lenovo, LG, and Lomond (see “Lomond Releases Next Generation of Memjet-Based Office Printers”). In North America, however, the company failed to find a foothold in the office space using the partnership model.
The first shift in strategy occurred In early 2013, when Memjet announced a distribution agreement with Parts Now (see “Parts Now Will Offer Memjet Office Color Printer”), making the Wisconsin-based company the first North American distributor of the Memjet-powered C6010 printer (the company does not use the words “Memjet-branded” when referring to these products, although they lack any other OEM’s brand). Following that announcement and the company’s subsequent strategy of entering the North American market through managed print services (MPS) dealers (see “Memjet-Based Units for MPS Dealers Suggest New Marketing Strategy”), Memjet announced a second North American distribution partnership with Image Star earlier this year (see “Image Star Announced as Memjet’s Second North American Dealer”).
The Australia/New Zealand and European distribution deals seem to indicate that Memjet is following up on a successful model—as well as raising some of the same questions. Back in January we asked Memjet Office President Kim Beswick about possible conflicts with OEM partners, to which she responded, “The office market is immense and diverse and global. Memjet is, at our core, a technology provider. We absolutely believe that we can both strategically develop key markets with our own devices and stay true to our OEM partners with minimal to no conflict.”
In its article, ARN also addresses the question of potential conflict. Ms. Beswick stated to ARN, “There is a lot of technology and a lot of competition … but our value proposition is centered around low-cost color … It’s a supplies value proposition. We have seen this work in multiple markets, and Dynamic Supplies understands that.”
While Memjet has seen reasonable success worldwide in the wide-format and commercial markets based on its partnership model, it seems the company is making a shift in the office products space. It will be interesting to see whether the company continues to pursue OEM partnerships in that area of its business or focuses on finding distributors willing to attempt to place “Memjet-powered” devices in offices worldwide. While adding new distributors in ones and twos will help Memjet place units, placements will most likely be modest. In its early years, Memjet had hoped to partner with one or more of the major printer vendors such as Brother, Canon, Epson, HP, or Lexmark—firms that could have helped Memjet to potentially grow a large installed base for its office color devices worldwide. However, these firms passed on Memjet technology for the office, and Lexmark has since exited the inkjet market altogether. Meanwhile, OEMs like HP and Epson are busy promoting their own homegrown business inkjet platforms, and Canon has a vested interest in promoting laser technology in the office. All this makes it increasingly unlikely that Memjet will find a big-name partner from among the ranks of printer OEMs for its office color platform, and the barriers to entry for firms outside the printer market are high.
