(Norwell, MA) October 15, 2002... In a recently published white paper from CAP Ventures, analysts reported on the factors that made 2001 a difficult year. All markets felt the impact of the economic slowdown in United States and Asian markets as well as the events of September 11. While the copier market is mature, particularly the low end, it was affected by Xerox's departure from the SoHo market. CAP Ventures estimated the total monochrome and colour copier market for 2001 to have declined by 11% to 1.331 million units, compared to the previous year 2000 for total Western Europe. The complete findings of the study are available in CAP Ventures' white paper entitled 2001 Western Europe Copier Market Estimate and Summary. The report states that the total market for copiers, including analogue and digital, black & white, and colour copiers, declined by 7.5% from 1,501,000 units in 2000 to 1,388,000 units in 2001. Several factors affected growth rates, including poor economic conditions, a change in market strategy by leading vendors, the rapid decline in analogue devices, and the continued displacement of copier units to other segments. Important findings include: * Placement decline continues due to an increase in other printer and fax-based MFPs, with platens displacing units from the copier market.    * The digital copier market grew 3% over 2000 as a consequence of vendors shifting from analogue and developing their portfolios with digital introductions.    * 2001 saw a further drop in analogue placements, with an estimated year-over-year decline of 24%.    * 2001 saw growth in multifunction placements, with a rise of 18% over 2000.    * Canon leads the market with a 31% market share in the Western European copier market. Despite losing market share, Xerox holds on to second position with 9%, and Ricoh rose to third with 8%. The market was impacted by the change in strategy from most vendors. Not only did it create a shift in the product portfolio with more colour and digital introductions, but it also created challenges for the channel as they embraced the digitisation of the marketplace and developed the "solutions" side of the business to align with the needs of end users. Colour was the star feature of the year for the copier market, with strong growth in the high end of the workgroup exceeding the forecasts for 2001. The 2001 Western Europe Copier Market Estimate and Summary is the first in a series of reports examining the peripherals markets.  Upcoming reports include: * 2001 Western Europe Facsimile Machine Market Overview    * 2001 Western Europe Printer Market Overview    * 2001 Western Europe Scanner Market Overview These reports include market share comparisons for 2000 vs. 2001. The reports analyise the single-function and multifunction markets across all segments and by user environments: personal, workgroup, and production. Placements by vendor and by segment are provided. A country-by-country analysis of the market is also included for the top five largest territories (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom).   The complete market overview is available immediately to clients of CAP Ventures' European Digital Peripherals Solutions Consulting Service. For more information on the overview or to make a purchase, please contact Nadia Balavoine at +44 1582 400120 or via e-mail at [email protected], or Deborah Hawkins at +49-30-21919935 or via e-mail at [email protected].