How does a company say it wants to be number one in the market without saying it wants to be number one in the market? Making strategic moves that can enable it to gain more and more share via an expanded portfolio is definitely one way. Which brings us to Ricoh.
Earlier this month, the venerable OEM announced it had reached an agreement with Brother International Corporation-USA. The deal allows Ricoh to tap into Brother’s impressive portfolio of A4 office printers. It’s just the latest in a line of bold strokes Ricoh has made to up the competitive ante. In 2023, the manufacturer grabbed headlines when it announced a joint venture with Toshiba Tec (and earlier this year, OKI), later called ETRIA, largely done to consolidate manufacturing operations but also incorporates a joint R&D component.
Ricoh certainly boasts an impressive M&A track record that spans decades—Savin, Lanier, IKON, Hitachi, IBM print solutions, Cenero, DocuWare—and continues to devise ways to leverage the best of brands via partnerships that don’t require annexing competitors.
In this installment of Two-Minute Drill, we sat down with Scott Dabice—the vice president, commercial strategy and operations for Ricoh—to glean more perspective on the deal. Dabice, whose responsibilities include office and production print portfolio management, strategic pricing and deal capture and governance, added insight into how this union can be beneficial to Ricoh’s clients and dealer partners.
How long have the companies been in discussions?
Dabice: We had been in discussions with Brother about potentially partnering over the past year, but the relationship really began to take root in December 2024.
What makes Brother the ideal partner?
Dabice: The Workhorse Series offers a unique mix of both technology and value that made Brother the ideal partner for us to align with in this portfolio expansion, based on Brother’s ability to augment our already robust portfolio of solutions-oriented A4 devices, without creating unnecessary overlap. The Brother models are very complementary to our current print lineup, including A3, A4 and production, so we are now able to round out the full portfolio to address print needs, wherever the opportunity occurs, including in industries that require distributed print, such as health care, retail, and financial services.
Do you see this deal enabling Ricoh to gain greater market share? Are there any other benefits?
Dabice: There’s certainly the opportunity, as the alliance allows us to attract more mixed-fleet engagements, and our strategy remains to maximize market share of Ricoh products. But we see the real benefit being for our customers and dealer partners.
The Ricoh and Brother A4 devices that make up this expanded portfolio ultimately create a comprehensive offering of imaging solutions that address a broad range of business needs and are capable of easily integrating into existing print infrastructures, particularly in modern, hybrid workplaces that operate in decentralized setups. Customers who purchase from us will benefit from the full breadth of Ricoh’s entire portfolio of products, services and software, with the benefit of utilizing both Ricoh- and Brother-branded equipment to meet the specific needs of individual departments and organizations. Our dealers will also gain a competitive advantage through an expanded portfolio of products, in turn allowing them to consolidate purchases through a single vendor and access program benefits exclusive to Ricoh dealers. Our ability to satisfy these needs of both our customers and dealer partners will ultimately expand Ricoh’s reach and market share.
Do you anticipate the deal expanding? Is there any chance Brother could offer any part of the Ricoh portfolio?
Dabice: There are currently no plans to expand the relationship or for Brother to take on any Ricoh product in their portfolio.
