Epson aiming for 15% growth

Epson Thailand aims to strengthen its lead in the high-yield inkjet printer market by minimising per-page printing costs in a drive to maintain double-digit revenue growth this year.

The Japanese printer and projector maker is increasingly targeting the commercial and industrial segments in order to keep pace with rapid changes in technology and consumers’ lifestyles and strengthen its position.

“We aim revenue to grow by 15% this year despite the unfavourable economic conditions,” said Yungyong Muneemongkoltorn, general manager of Epson Thailand.

He acknowledged that greater competition in the high-yield inkjet printer market in Thailand will intensify as more companies jump into the fray.

Epson has dominated the market since it introduced its L-Series high-yield inkjet printer five years ago, posting sales of 2 million units.

The company is introducing six models of the L-Series line with higher speed printing, with prices ranging from 4,690 to 11,900 baht to serve home and business users, said Mr Yungyong.

It has also extended the warranty for its products from six months to 1-2 years.

In addition, Epson has reduced the price of new products by 5% in order to increase sales and expand its customer base.

“We expect to increase our share of the inkjet printer market to 38-40% this year, up from 36% last year,” said Mr Yungyong.

Domestic sales of inkjet printers will be flat this year at 800,000 units, due to the sluggish economy.

But the market value is expected to grow by 5-10% to 1.8 billion baht this year, thanks to continued strong sales of high-yield inkjet printers, he said.

“We expect to see continued strong growth in the high-yield inkjet printer segment this year accounting for 75% of total inkjet printers, up from 60% last year, thanks to increased demand from endusers,” said Mr Yungyong.

He added that Epson wants to increase its footprint in the commercial and industrial printer segments, which are high growth areas, in order to offset the continuing decline in the government and consumer markets.

In a bid to boost brand recognition on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Epson Thailand, the company has appointed singer Saharat “Kong” Sangkapricha as brand ambassador to help it build brand awareness among the corporate market.

Epson expects revenue from the corporate segment to account for 58-60% of total revenue in 2015, up from 55% last year.

Toshimitsu Tanaka, newly appointed managing director of Epson Singapore, said Epson expects the Southeast Asian market to see double-digit growth this year as well.