Canon expands inkjet printer range, eyes 30% pie

Japanese printing services major Canon, which claims to have a 24% share of the inkjet printer market in India, aims to improve its share to 30% in the next one year.

The company is confident of achieving the target as it was able to improve its share in inkjet printers to 24% in 2013 from 14% in 2010. The market leader in the segment is HP, which commands a 59% share.

Over the last few years, Canon has strategically been expanding in the inkjet category by launching new models in the PIXMA range. Under the PIXMA inkjet range, the company today launched nine new models in Hyderabad for home, office and professional users, which range from above Rs 4,000 to Rs 22,000.

In November last year, Canon came up with five all-in-one photo printers in its PIXMA line-up, taking the total to 27.

"We are focusing on capturing the demand created at homes from the school-going kids," said Alok Bharadwaj, executive vice-president, Canon India. To improve visibility here, it started product campaigning centered on the needs of school kids.

The PIXMA Super Student inkjet range is backed by wi-fi Internet access and has been bundled with applications and creative pre-loaded features. The company has recorded sales of Rs 200 crore last year in the inkjet category, he said.

The Indian inkjet printer market is pegged at 1.2-million units, of which the ink efficient category contributes to 500,000 units, Bharadwaj added.

In the current year, Canon India plans to spend Rs 120 crore on product advertising across all media. This is 25% higher than the previous year's spending.