Canon in India: Restructuring to Survive

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"Our growth will be driven by increase in the number of products, gain in marketshare and expansion to more parts of the country. We have morphed from an office automation firm to an imaging solutions company."

- Alok Bharadwaj, Director and General Manager, Consumer Imaging & Information Division, Canon India, in April 2003.¹

Canon India Marching Ahead

In April 2003, Canon India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Canon Singapore (regional headquarters of Japan's global imaging major, Canon Inc.), won the prestigious 'Challenger 2003' award. The award was given by Skoch Consulting Services (Skoch), a leading strategy and marketing consultancy for the information technology (IT) industry in India.

Canon India won this award for excellent performance in its inkjet printer² business. Commenting on Canon's selection for the award, Sameer Kochhar, CEO, Skoch, said, "Canon sold 15% inkjet printers in a market size of 580,963 units. Additionally, Canon's performance in India has been commendable, considering that nearly 70% of its sales took place in non-metro areas, where the action is shifting."³ Research conducted by Skoch revealed that Canon India was well poised for leveraging the growth in the inkjet printer market in the early 21^st century. Skoch also stated that the company had the potential to double its marketshare by 2005.

While receiving the 'Challenger 2003' award, Alan Grant, Managing Director, Canon India, said, "Canon is extremely pleased to receive the Challenger 2003 award. The award is a reinforcementof Canon's performance in the inkjet printer market and strengthens its positioning as the only complete digital imaging company in India."⁴

This award was one of the many positive developments in the company after June 2001, when Canon India set about to position itself as a complete digital imaging company, increase its marketshare and consolidate its presence in the Indian IT Peripherals market.

As part of the restructuring exercise, it completely overhauled its product, marketing and, sales and distribution strategies. Analysts attributed the significant increase in Canon India's inkjet printer marketshare, from 3% in 2001 to 15% in early 2003, largely to this revamp. The company was now the second leading player in India's inkjet, scanner and multifunctional devices (MFD) market.

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1] "Canon Bags the 'Challenger 2003' Award for Inkjet Printers," www.agencyfaqs.com, April 08, 2003.

2] Printers fall under the category of PC peripherals, and are of various types: dot-matrix, inkjet, laser, thermal, etc. In dot-matrix printers, characters are created by striking pins against an ink ribbon, making dots, and the combination of such dots forms characters and illustrations. In inkjet printers, text and graphics are created by spraying ink at a sheet of paper. Laser printers use laser technology and produce high quality text and graphics. Thermal printers work by pushing heated pins against heat-sensitive paper and are mainly used in calculators/fax machines.

3] "Canon Bags the 'Challenger 2003' Award for Inkjet Printers," www.agencyfaqs.com, April 08, 2003.

4] "Canon Bags the 'Challenger 2003' Award for Inkjet Printers," www.agencyfaqs.com, April 08, 2003.