Hewlett-Packard Co has formed a new subsidiary called Apollo Consumer Products Inc in an attempt to dominate the sub $100 color inkjet printer market. The wholly-owned subsidiary, headquartered in Delaware, will debut its first products – which will feature colorful space-age design – in the spring of this year. Jeremy James, a HP printer spokesperson, likened the formation of the division to route taken by manufacturers such as Whirlpool, who produce low-end goods under the Roper brandname. James said that Apollo would be able to produce printers at the sub-$100 price point because the 10 person company employed a different business model to HP – outsourcing the manufacturing and distribution of the printers to third parties. In addition, the use of the Apollo name will allow HP to enter the very low- end market – a sector fiercely contested by rivals such as Canon and Lexmark – without compromising its reputation for quality in the higher end of the inkjet market. James said that the move was an attempt to maintain HP’s overall leadership in the inkjet market. HP isn’t entirely removing its name from the Apollo printers, which will be marked with the legend ‘Powered by Hewlett Packard inkjet technology.’ In addition, HP anticipates healthy sales in inkjet refill cartridges used by the Apollo printers. James denied that Apollo – along with the launch of the new HP Pavilion consumer PC line – represented a consumer re- launch for HP, as some commentators have suggested. James said that the announcements were made autonomously and did not represent some kind of one-two punch but more a reaction to overall market trends. Of course, this is not the first time HP has used the Apollo brand name; Apollo Computer was the moniker of a Unix workstation company that HP bought in 1989 and folded into its own workstation division. Meanwhile, HP’s profit engine – LaserJet refill cartridges – looks more secure as HP has reached a settlement with Xerox in its long-running trademark- infringement lawsuit involving Xerox-brand remanufactured toner- cartridge packaging. Xerox has acknowledged HP’s ownership of alphanumeric and ‘LaserJet’ trademarks, and will change its packaging to comply with the settlement agreement and implement new packaging within the next 90 days. James said that HP was happy with the resolution of the case, saying that Xerox had frankly infringed our trademarks.
