Canon expects better printer sale
By James Paul | 01 Jan 2002
Kochi:
Canon India, which has launched a slew of 12 printers
in the last two months, is aiming at increasing its market-share
from the current 10 per cent to 18 per cent in the printer
business by next year.
The printers and copiers account for one-third each of the total
sales of Canon. The balance is made up by its other products,
including its camera, says Canon India MD Alan D Grant. The
price of the printers range from Rs 4,000 to 20,000. The
bubble-jet printers are the most popular selling at
40,000 units per month.
The turnover from printers is expected to go up from Rs 15
crore to Rs 60 crore in the current year. Among its latest
addition is a cordless printer for laptops priced in the range
of Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000. Kerala is a strong market for Canon
printers, with the highest share of 15 to 20 per cent. Allan feels
it could be due to increased awareness and high PC penetration in
homes and small offices.
As part of its strategy to promote its printers, Canon is
planning to build an emotional relationship with its customers
similar to that its camera enjoys in India. Currently, Canon
occupies the second position in the printer market, with
Hewlett-Packard leading the field.
Canon, which started operations in India in 1997 as 100-per cent
subsidiary of Canon Singapore Pte, received permission to launch
all its products only by July last year. The turnover, projected
to rise to Rs 230 crore from Rs 150 crore, is expected to grow to
Rs 500 crore by 2004. Allan says his company will break even by
next year.
