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HP takes umbrage at Umax scanner ad

Summit is a one the two Indian distributors of Umax scanners that rival similar equipment from HPI.

T O D A Y

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The questionable print ad campaign of Summit appeared early this year in a few trade magazines and directly targeted HPI.

The ad read: 'Summit devours HP scanners for dinner'. It then went on to list a 'features versus prices' comparison between Umax Astra 1220P and HP Scanjet 5100C models. This was followed by statistics on the market share of both the companies.

HPI's complain to ASCI claims that Summit has been "unethical".

Following a letter from ASCI, asking for clarifications, Summit has responded that the ad campaign is over and it does not intend to re-release it.

In its reply, Summit has also sought to justify taking direct pot shots at HPI, claiming there is nothing misleading about the ad because the figures it quotes are based on IDC surveys.

"We have backed all the information given in the ad by already published IDC figures. These are not our figures. In fact, the IDC figures are a little conservative because we believe we have done much better than what IDC has reported," Summit Managing Director Rakesh Kapoor has been quoted as saying.

"We have written to ASCI, telling them that we have not violated any ethics. We had expected the ad to create some interest in the market, but we are surprised to see it happen six months after we released the ad," Kapoor says.

He admitted that the ad is "a little hard-hitting", but maintains that his company is justified in issuing such an ad because of the competitive nature of the business.

When Summit started selling scanners in India, HP was the only significant player with a 90 per cent market share.

In the last 18 months, HP has lost about 30 per cent share, most of which has come to Summit, claims Kapoor.

"When IDC first started publishing its survey of the scanner industry two years ago, HP had a market share of 60 per cent and Umax had between 30 and 35 per cent," he says.

As per the latest IDC figures, Umax has 55 per cent market share and HP has 34 per cent in terms of units sold of the 40,000 units sold last year.

Microtek, Xerox and Agfa hold the rest of the market, each enjoying a share ranging between 3 and 5 per cent.

Summit registered a 75 per cent annual growth with a turnover of Rs 300 million in the financial year ending March 1999 as against 100 per cent growth in the previous year.

The growth has come down due to the slump in the advertising and publishing industry, the main buyers of scanners.

Corporate and government purchases too went down substantially last year, according to Kapoor.

- Compiled from the Indian media

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