Credit Crunch Impact on Copier Industry

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.