Vikas Gupta:- What is accelerating the demand for printing solutions across Indian enterprises?
Mr. Ram Prasad:- Constant technological advancements coupled with increased adoption of IT amongst consumers have played an instrumental role in driving demand for printers. With increased demand for low cost printing from verticals such as SOHO, SMB, BFSI and educational institutions, there has been a growing need for printers providing superior quality at a reduced cost. To address this demand, we introduced printers featuring an integrated ink tank system that guarantees a drastic improvement in cost per print which no printer could offer otherwise. Ink tank printers introduced by Epson now enable printing at a previously unimaginable 10 paise per page for mono prints, and approximately 30 paise per page for colored ones. These printers are already starting to replace conventional uneconomical and environmentally unfriendly laser printers in the workplace.
Moreover, our new generation of printers also come with a host of innovative features are equipped with connectivity features such as Wi-Fi, duplex printing and touch-screen interface support. The popularity of Multi Function printers also indicate a shift in consumer preference. We see huge business growth in segments such as SOHO, SMB, Education, Retail, and BFSI segments.
Vikas Gupta:- How is Epson looking at its Indian operations? What are the top most priorities here?
Mr. Ram Prasad:- Epson India Pvt Ltd started its India operations in the year 2000. Over the past 13 years, we have grown in stature and expanded our presence significantly; we enjoy dominance as the No.1 or No. 2 player in almost every category that we operate in. With the support of our robust partner network across the country, we are able to address the growing consumer requirement. Having clocked a turnover of Rs 703 crore last year, we aim to be a Rs 1000 crore company by 2014.
As a global leader, we strive to consistently deliver high quality products with innovative features. Keeping in line with our tagline, ‘Exceed your vision’, we have always introduced products with superior technology that have set new industry standards and also enabled us to carve out a new niche for ourselves. The most recent of these are are our L and M series range of Mono Ink Tank Inkjet printers that makes printing more efficient and economical helping s users reduce running costs with their incredible cost per page of a mere 12 paise per B&W print. We also recently introduced the Moverio BT-100 – portable see-through multimedia glasses that allow the user to watch a variety of content through transparent lenses, ensuring they remain aware of their surroundings, while viewing content in total privacy. As global leaders in the projector category for the last 11 years, we have revolutionized this product category with technologies that give us a distinct edge over our competition; we recently launched full HD 3D ready projectors – EH-TW5200 and the EH-TW8200 that deliver the brightest 3D image. Our range of interactive projectors, targeted to education and business segments eliminates the need of a dedicated interactive whiteboard and helps one make engaging presentations in a seamless manner. Epson SurePress makes short run label printing printing much easier, faster and more efficient and Epson SureLab provides extraordinary print quality and increased productivity for the lab segment. These are just some examples of fantastic innovations that will drive our thrust in the years to come.
Vikas Gupta:- What is the market size in the laser printers space in India?
Mr. Ram Prasad:- The Laser Printer Market size is around 1.4 – 1.5 Million and predominantly it’s the mono Laser printer which is getting sold. Addressing increasing consumer demand for printers that offer superior print quality, ease of use and low total cost of ownership, Epson designed its M series Inktank system printers that offer consumers more benefits than a laser print with the per print cost as low as 12 paisa. At just 12 paise per mono printout the Epson M200 prints at one third the cost of low quality refilled laser toners and lets one enjoy ultra-high yield of 6,000 pages, reducing the constant hassle of refilling. We see huge acceptance from the SMB and corporate segment.
This is the segment Epson M Series will be able to address as the alternative to Mono Laser.
Vikas Gupta:- which are the key technologies that are ruling the printing industry today?
Mr. Ram Prasad:- The Indian consumers are looking for innovative products that are both cost-effective and efficient. The Key area Epson is investing is to provide right products for Indian Market by maximizing the superior technology which Epson has invented over the years. We have been able to offer higher productivity combined with Cost efficiency by scaling up our Reengineered Micro Peizo technology in our inkjet printer making them the most suitable Printers for any SME/Large corporate offering the best TCO cost efficiency as well as environmentally most suitable printing solutions. Our L and M series of Ink Tank system printers offer consumers reduced cost per print and low total cost of ownership. We have upgraded our recent printers with host of innovative features offering them the best of connectivity covering iprint/Google print/Mail print /Epson Connect Services to tech savy organization who are looking for cloud based solutions even in printing domain
Vikas Gupta:- As part of Epson capacity expansion plans, what will be the strategy over the next few years?
Mr. Ram Prasad:- We aim to double our revenues to Rs 1,400 crore in the next 3 years.
Vikas Gupta:- How are you aligning your channel roadmap to target new customer segment?
Mr. Ram Prasad:- Through a robust network of 4000 partners, we have been successful in reaching out to our consumers across a majority of verticals through the length and breadth of the country. We conduct extensive partner training programs on a regular basis to ensure they have a complete understanding of our product portfolio and the customer segments to focus based on the company’s directions. Through our continuous channel engagement programs, our partners are fully equipped to promote the entire product portfolio to a cross section of consumers.
Vikas Gupta:- what percentage is the contribution of the labels division in the company’s overall growth?
Mr. Ram Prasad:- The Focus on Label Market has been very recent in Epson India and we have products suiting as simple has handheld label writers for offices & home who want to have their respective places more organized. Same time we have our production Machine in Surepress which is the digital Label Press capable of producing high quality Labels on par with conventional Label Presses. Taking into account the larger market opportunities in Label Market we feel immense growth for Epson in this segment in coming years We also have dedicated Colour Label coupon Printers which can be of immense use in retail shops/Amusement parks etc.
Vikas Gupta:- How do you view the future of the Indian label market?
Mr. Ram Prasad:- The trend is towards High Quality Premium Short run Labels which help customers as a clutter breaker in the retail space. That’s the segment exactly Epson Surepress will be able to address.
