Rivals Say HP Is Using Hardball Tactics

Cheaper store-brand inkjet printer cartridges have come on strong recently and now make up about a quarter of the market for replacement cartridges in the U.S. That poses a serious threat to Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), the worldwide leader in consumer printers. Now, according to printer industry and retailing executives, HP is fighting back.

Those executives say the company has approached chain stores that sell store-brand cartridges compatible with its printers and offered them incentives if they end the practice. Since those replacement cartridges typically sell for 10% to 15% less than HP's, consumers could be the big losers if a lot of retailers take the printer giant up on its offer, they say. "HP has a huge share and market power. By limiting the alternatives a consumer has, it's a tough strategy," says one executive in the ink cartridge remanufacturing business. (The independent and store brands sell recycled cartridges that they refill.) None of 's sources would allow their names to be used because they didn't want to damage their relationships with the industry leader.