Fujifilm To Terminate Sales Partnership With Xerox In 2021

Tokyo-based Fujifilm Holdings Corporation (OTC: FUJIY) will end its sales partnership with U.S. office equipment maker Xerox Holdings Corp (NYSE: XRX) in March 2021, according to Nikkei Asian Review.

What Happened

Fujifilm’s subsidiary Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. informed U.S.-based Xerox on Sunday it would not renew the ongoing sales partnership contract between the two companies, which is set to expire in March 2021.

Fujifilm announced the news on Monday (Tokyo time), which resulted in an over 2% drop in its share price in morning trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

The current contract between Fujifilm and Xerox specifies the trademark rights and regional sales territories of the two companies.

Fujifilm and Xerox jointly hold a 16.6% global market share in A3 laser multifunction printers, according to research firm IDC. Fuji Xerox accounts for about nine percentage points, while Xerox accounts for around 7 points, of that 16.6%.

Why It Matters

The termination of the sales partnership will turn the longtime allies into rivals in Asia, the U.S., and Europe.

After the contract ends in March 2021, Fuji Xerox will lose the right to use the Xerox brand. Xerox, on the other hand, will be able to enter growing Asian office equipment markets from April 2021.

Meanwhile, Fuji Xerox has already announced it would change its corporate name to Fujifilm Business Innovation, effective April 2021.

The relationship between Fujifilm and Xerox soured recently as merger talks between the two companies broke down, and they started playing the blame game in May 2019.

Fujifilm scraped a deal with Xerox in November under which it would buy a 25% stake in Fuji Xerox after investor activism ruined a deal involving the two companies.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Fujifilm Corporation