What is competition like in the printer/copier hardware industry? What is the competitive strength of buyers and suppliers? How strong are the threats of substitute products and new entrants to the industry? How strong is rivalry among competing firms? Explain. Select "true" for those statements that are accurate and choose "false" for those that are not.
a. Threat of entry in this market is low, as industry profitability is decreasing.
(Click to select) True False
b. Ricoh Canada has well-established relationships with a large proportion of revenue generated from repeat customers. New entrants would have a difficult time establishing relationships.
(Click to select) True False
c. Ricoh’s brand is slowly diminishing, allowing for new competition to enter the market.
(Click to select) True False
d. The threat of substitutes in this industry is strong; many companies can develop the technology to compete in printing/copying.
(Click to select) True False
e. There is not a direct substitute for printing and copying or the subsequent maintenance activities. However, companies are moving toward cloud technology and digital documents.
(Click to select) True False
f. The bargaining power of suppliers is low in this industry.
(Click to select) True False
g. Component suppliers are unable to leapfrog over large printer/copier companies because of the high degree of skill required to manufacture these products.
(Click to select) True False
h. Buyer bargaining power is low for this industry; buyers do not have the ability to negotiate the price of services/products.
(Click to select) True False
i. Buyers face low switching costs because there is not a significant technology gap between companies.
(Click to select) True False
j. The competitive rivalry for this industry is high with the market continuing to shrink.
(Click to select) True False
k. This industry has been growing, creating a strong market where many companies are vying to become the market leader.
(Click to select) True False
l. Differentiation between products is apparent, but there is relatively subtle increasing competitive rivalry.
(Click to select) True False