As we continue our Best of 2024 series to put a bow on the year, there were more than a few candidates for the Year’s Most Shocking Story trophy. In the end, we identified one event that stood out among the pack of top stories, as seen in our December issue’s Top 10 Stories of 2024.
An argument can be made for the agreement between Konica Minolta and FUJIFILM to join forces in the procurement of parts and raw materials. But considering the Toshiba-Ricoh joint venture from 2023, OEMs forging deals to strengthen supply chains and gain production efficiencies is certainly big news, but not wholly unexpected. In fact, we’re geared up to see more partnerships take shape in the coming years (sorry Xerox, your pending acquisition of Lexmark, while a 2024 event, is too late for consideration).
The gold medal goes to Katun Corporation, the distributor of parts and supplies, which announced in September it was entering the field as an A3 OEM, courtesy of the Arivia line. As if that weren’t enough, Katun also made a big splash when it revealed its first major dealer partner, Impact Networking of Lake Forest, Illinois. In the process, the $200 million dealership, led by Frank Cucco, forged a unique two-way trade, with Katun availing itself of Impact’s managed marketing division, both domestically and globally.
This was a watershed event in two ways: a longtime distributor adding an A3 offering to its stable, and Impact’s CEO hammering out a 50/50 deal in agreeing to add Katun to its catalog of offerings that already feature Kyocera, Ricoh and Konica Minolta. As Cucco noted, the tradeoff goes against the grain of manufacturers owning the OEM-dealer relationship. It’s a win-win proposition.
There’s certainly no dearth of new MFP players, a list that now includes Fuji and relative newcomer Avision. What’s most compelling is the fact that Katun already boasts an extensive dealer client book of business. Even with the company’s strong reputation, it’s still an uphill climb to convince dealers that there’s room for a new entry in an already-crowded field of manufacturers. But had Katun not been in business for 45 years, and had it not developed a sterling reputation, the journey to a successful A3 offering would have been much more arduous.
What’s next? Xerox’s recently announced acquisition of Lexmark demonstrates the jockeying for position among OEMs is not over, and it says here that one more similar union will be taking place in the not-too-distant future.
