Credit Crunch Impact on Copier Industry

Thursday, 16 October 2008 14:18

In recent months there has been a much talked about change in the economic climate. Data from the photocopier industry can be useful for investigating which industries have been affected by looking at which businesses are making more photocopier enquiries and which are making less, it can indicate the businesses that seem to be expanding and doing well and the industries that seem to have been affected negatively.

There seems to have been an increase in first time enquiries from three main industries in the last quarter, these include; debt recovery agencies, nursery schools, and letting agencies. This influx of enquiries indicates that these industries are in fact prospering during the credit crunch and have expanded enough to justify owning or leasing a photocopier. Information like this can go some way to judge how the credit crunch is affecting Britain's industries. A high percentage of businesses (almost 38%) that have sent notice of going into administration within the last quarter have come from the consumer industry, suggesting that consumers are being more careful with their money. When this is compared with the increase of enquiries coming from debt recovery agencies within the last quarter, it is obvious that there has been a definite shift in the economy.

It is clear that the housing market has been affected in a big way by the credit crunch, especially now that mortgages are less readily available. This has been reflected in the photocopier market, with less business coming from the housing construction and development industry, but a substantial increase in enquiries from letting agencies. These changes support the fact that people are choosing to rent property as the market is not stable enough to buy.

The idea of leasing rather than buying is also reflected in the photocopier industry, with more businesses choosing to take out lease agreements on photocopiers rather than purchasing these devices. This could be a positive outcome of the credit crunch as leasing office equipment can not only give peace of mind but also allows businesses to keep up with the very latest technology. Although there has been an increase in difficulty in getting companies passed for lease clearance, there does not seem to be a slow down in the photocopier industry as people are still upgrading to new models to take advantage of lower running costs and reduced leasing charges as well as greater energy efficiency. Many companies are also finding that they need to do more marketing to reach sales targets and so are making good use of their in-house colour facilities.

Research has shown that the nursery and pre-school care market has grown by 5% in the last year alone, which explains why a large amount of enquiries for photocopiers have come from this area recently(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/education/2437850/Nursery-school-demand-soars-as-older-mothers-return-to-their-careers.html). It is possible that it may no longer be reassuring enough to have just one parent working as, according to the Daily Mirror, 1 in 5 people are worried that they may lose their jobs (http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2008/09/30/credit-crunch-britain-the-grim-statistics-115875-20761018/­). Coupled with worries over owning property and possible mortgage increases, this could be forcing both parents to back work shortly after child birth and thus increasing the need for nursery schools.

There has been much discussion and debate over the last few months about which industries are being affected by the credit crunch and many people have tried to make predictions about who will be affected in the long term. Many businesses have noticed the affects of the credit crunch, but from looking at new business in the photocopier industry, it seems that not all businesses have been affected negatively. Perhaps the results of this investigation indicate that businesses and the public are being more careful about how and where they spend their money, which could result in a more stable economic climate in the future. Many businesses are also requesting a print audit to help reduce their printing costs and develop an efficient print strategy.