Epson expects to grow as overall market stays flat

[Nick]

The overall printer market expects to face flat growth this year, although Epson (Thailand) is predicting positive growth of 5-8 percent as it launches its "20 Years 20 Weeks Gold Lucky Draw" promotion.

Epson (Thailand) country manager Eiji Kato said the company can maintain sales revenue growth at 5 percent in 2009, with total sales of 2.1 billion baht, in contrast with the declining overall market. The sales of every printer mode increased by 40 percent, with multifunction models and projectors each growing by 60 percent over the previous year.

The company has adjusted its target for the first quarter due to the political unrest, but Kato said he is confident the market will recover very quickly.

He added that Epson Micro Piezo printheads and 3LCD projectors will be the highlight of Epson as it celebrates 20 years in Thailand and aims to achieve the sales revenue of 2.3 billion baht, a 10 percent growth on last year.

According to managing director Yunyong Muneemongkoltorn, in 2009 Epson held the number one market share in single-function inkjet printers, with double growth over the previous year.

The 60 percent growth of Epson's multifunction printer was due to the company spreading channels through modern trade and provincial markets, he said, adding that the Epson projector's impressive growth was because the company entered the education sector with a full range of product lines.

The three key focus markets for Epson this year include SMEs by offering mid-range inkjet printers; business products such as projectors, terminal printers, dot matrix and business scanners; and the new market which covers large-format printers and passbook printers.

Epson has dedicated account support teams and enhanced support to branch levels of modern trade and chain stores, including provincial areas.

According to Ananpol Nontapan, general manager of Service and Organisation Management, the company has completely revamped the previous Epson Coverplus to Epson Service Centre, which today has 105 centres nationwide.

The improvement in Epson service centres will allow the company to offer better repair turnaround times and increase the quality of Epson service.

Further initiatives include the "20 Years Epson With 20 Weeks Gold Lucky Draw", worth over two million baht during June to October, and the Cash Back programme for SMEs affected by the Bangkok unrest to help them make payment installments at zero interest for 10 months on Epson products bought at Commart on June 24-27.

About the author


Writer: Sasiwimon Boonruang
Position: Database Reporter


ที่มา: bangkokpost.com