BWI: Canon India Reinforces Market Leadership in Laser Printing. Launches 15 New Products

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: Canon
Tuesday, June 01, 2010 05:25 PM IST (11:55 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Business services, Electronic appliances & components, Information technology, Publishing & printing; Technology
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Canon India Reinforces Market Leadership in Laser Printing. Launches 15 New Products


New Delhi, Delhi, India, Tuesday, June 01, 2010 -- (Business Wire India) -- . Captures No. 1 market share of 34.5% in laser category including laser printer & laser MFD in Q1 2010
. Aims to capture No. 1 market share in the wi-fi printing market by December 2010
. Launches 4 new initiatives to consolidate leadership

Canon India Pvt. Limited, India's No 1. Complete Digital Imaging Company today announced the launch of 15 new products to further strengthen its stand as the market leader in India for printers. With this launch, Canon expands its range to 82 IT peripheral products from its printing division with a current market share of 34.5% in the laser printer market across single function and multi function printers. With the launch of these new products, Canon expects the new products to contribute over 50% to the printer division's revenues in 2010.

The range unveiled today includes 2 Single Format Inkjet Printers, 3 All-in-one Printers, 2 Laser Printers, 6 Projectors, 1 scanner and 1 Laser Multi-function device. At the launch, Canon also showcased the All-in-one printer PIXMA MX876 which is a complete office solution. Each of the newly launched printers has Wi-Fi which is in response to the increasing demand for Wi-Fi platforms and devices in the country. With laptops growing at a high rate and wi-fi now becoming the default feature the overall Indian Wi-Fi market is predicted to grow at over 60% and Wi-Fi printers will form a major share of the market for Wi-Fi products. Canon has noticed a change in lifestyle in Indian homes where increasingly more than 1 person is connecting for printing. People also want to be mobile within homes. To cater to this, Canon is expanding its wi-fi inkjet AIO range which also includes the auto duplex feature.

Canon's wi-fi printers have grown over 100% quarter on quarter since their launch in Q3 2009. Canon aims to capture a 50% market share of the wi-fi printing market in India by end of 2010. In addition, each of these printers has ChromaLife100+ System, Security features, ISO standard speed and is environment friendly.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Kensaku Konishi, President & CEO Canon India, said, "At Canon we strive to bring fresh concepts and innovative technologies and the current range of products are the best mix of both. Continuing to delight our customers, these new products provide the best of technology and reinforce our dominance in the market." He further added "To align with our corporate 'green commitment' and need for cost reduction in printing by businesses and convenience in printing for home users, our new products launched today feature auto duplex printing, wi fi capabilities and network capabilities ready for enterprise and home printing. "

Mr. Alok Bharadwaj, Senior Vice President, Canon India remarked, "Canon is known to be using state of the art technologies in creating new propositions to the customers constantly. We have shaped our marketing techniques to make such propositions relevant to young and aspiring consumers. Today's launch of 15 new products increases our range to 82 and will be an engine of our transformation to leadership position in inkjet segment. "

He further added " Canon has now maintained its leadership market share in the laser printer category in single function for almost 9 months and have also gained a strong foothold in the laser multifunctional category and we now have a 34.5% share in this category making us No. 1. Continued innovation leading to new products is crucial to Canon's growth and the new range of products showcases Canon's commitment to keep pace with consumer's demands and also define standards in the industry. The printer division (CSP) is crucial to Canon's business and will be key in achieving our goal of Rs 1200 crore by the end of this year. The CSP division will achieve Rs. 450 cr registering a growth of 60% in 2010."

Canon also announced the roll out of 4 new initiatives to consolidate its leadership in laser printers and taking leadership in inkjet printers. All these initiatives will be commencing from 1st July 2010:-

1. Canon PIXMA wi-fi printing zones - To strengthen Canon's foothold in the wi fi printing industry, Canon plans to launch 100 PIXMA wi-fi printing zones across 12 cities by December 2010. These wi-fi printing zones, will be based on the shop in shop concept across its selected dealer network and will display and demo the entire range of Canon PIXMA wi-fi printers and all-in-ones enabling India to 'Print from Anywhere'.

2. Canon Green Cycle Program - As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility, Canon is celebrating the World Environment Day on 5th June by initiating a pilot project for Cartridge e-Waste management program called the Canon Green Cycle program. The project will allow users to bring in any brand of used printer or cartridge or toner and drop the same for e waste disposal. It is being launched as a pilot across 45 OIC's in 3 cities of Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. Canon has tied up with authorized e waste recycler TIC Group India Pvt Ltd who would be collecting and disposing the e waste from the 45 OIC's.

3. Canon Smiley Program - Canon also launched the Smiley Program offering four value adds for any customer buying a Canon printer starting 1st July. The value adds are:

- Additional warranty - Consumers get additional warranty for upto 1 year depending on the model of the printer purchased
- Surprise gifts - One customer stands to win a ipod every week.
- Discount on cartridges -Discounts on cartridge MRP's for online orders in 16 cities.
- Offers on next buy - Special registration offers on the next purchase of a Canon printer through online registration.

4. OIC Platinum partners program - Canon is expanding its consumable market with the increase in the number of Original Ink Centres (OIC) from the current base of 690 to 1000 outlets across 96 cities by December 2010. The top 40 OIC's are being integrated into a club called the OIC Platinum Partners program and to build deeper engagement with them, they are being taken for a motivational trip to Beijing in Q4 2010.

Canon recently launched the Canon Image express which is the largest consumer exhibition on wheels. This Image express consists of a caravan of 6 re-modelled canters which opens up to a 4800 square feet of floating showroom space and displays over 80 Canon products. This caravan which will travel across 38 cities over 1 year has till now clocked over 25000 footfalls and over Rs. 1 crore in revenue. In addition, the printer division is looking to increase its reseller base from the current 3000 to 5000 by December 2010. It will continue its retail branding and merchandising drive across all major cities. The division also plans to announce exciting schemes in the festival quarter for its channel partners".

Canon also launched 6 new models of its projector range increasing its focus in this segment. The growing segments of digital classrooms, e-governance projects have increased the demand for high end projectors and Canon's new range will ensure that it is ready for this opportunity.

Key features of some of the products launched include:

. WiFI -Print from anywhere from Multiple Platforms - WiFi Print feature allows users to print wirelessly from multiple platforms like Windows & Macintosh. The All-in-one printers PIXMA AIO MX347, MX357 and MX876 has Wi-Fi option. This printer can be connected via USB 2.0, network cable or via a Wi-Fi link to one or more printers, all of which can address the printer independently.

. Highest Contrast Ratio - Canon offers the highest contrast ratio of 2000:1 in the projector category. One such attribute is high brightness for use in areas, such as classrooms or meeting rooms, where ambient light exists and cannot be controlled, and turning the lights off is not preferred. Canon introduced the Auto Iris mode, and the type LV7285 LV7280. When the Auto Iris mode activated, the projector will automatically adjust the amount of light projected, if the picture is dominated by dark colors, resulting in clearer images and sharper, with increased contrast ratio of 500:1 to 2000:1.

. Direct Print thru Remote UI - The LBP6650dn allows direct printing (JPEG, TIFF) using the built-in Remote UI thereby eliminating the need to install printer drivers

. Output tray sensor - The LBP6300dn and LBP6650n are equipped with a new output tray sensor that pauses printing when the tray is full. Printing resumes automatically when the already-printed stack is removed.

. SendLite Feature - The newly added functionality of Canon's SEND LITE technology - previously only available on Canon's high-end iR series multifunctionals. When connected to a network, SEND LITE functions enable the scanning of documents direct to e-mail address or network (SMB server), enabling the simple, fuss-free distribution of documents via the network. Scanning direct to USB memory devices is also possible. SEND LITE is capable of producing highly compressed files without compromising on quality.

About Canon Inc

Canon Inc. is a global leader with total revenue of about US$ 34 billion in 2009, in photographic and digital imaging solutions. Its global network now includes 240 companies, employing some more than 165,000 people. Five Technology 'imaging' engines of Optical, Electrophotography, Bubble Jet, Semiconductor and Display drive Canon's cutting-edge technology products. Canon is the world leader in office automation and digital imaging technologies. The company is dedicated to the advancement in technology and innovation and commits 10% of its total revenue each year to R&D. Canon is ranked 33rd on the Best Global Brands for the second consecutive year in Business Week's 100 Best Global Brands and amongst top 200 on the Fortune Global 500 in year 2009. Canon has consistently remained as one of the top 3 global companies to have earned the most number of patents over the last decade. Guided by its kyosei philosophy, which focuses on "living and working together for the common good", Canon delivers high performance and user-friendly products and solutions to improve efficiency both in the office and home environment. More information is available on www.canon.co.in

Canon in India

Canon's product portfolio extends over a vast variety of digitalcopiers, multi-functional peripherals, fax-machines, inkjet and laser printers, scanners, All-in-ones, digital cameras, camcorders , dye sub photo printers and multi media projectors & cable ID printers.

Canon India Pvt. Ltd. is a 100% subsidiary of Canon Singapore Pte. Ltd. a world leader in imaging technologies. Set up in 1997, Canon India markets over 140 comprehensive range of sophisticated contemporary digital imaging. The company today has offices in 7 cities, warehouses in 13 cities across India and employs over 700 people. Canon has over 380 primary channel partners 13 National Retail Chain partners, over 4000 secondary retail points including 270 National Retail Chain store partners & 33 Canon Care Centers. Canon products are available in over 300 towns in India.

Canon India closed 2009 with revenues of Rs. 840 crore in 2009, a 27% growth over 2008. It expects to register a turnover of Rs. 1200 crores in 2010 which will be a 42% growth over 2009.


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KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, MARKETING, BUSINESS SERVICES, ELECTRONICS, IT, PUBLISHING, TECHNOLOGY

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