 "Canon banks on new categories for growth")
Japanese imaging and optical products company Canon is eyeing sales of Rs 3,000 crore in India by 2019. The company clocked Rs 2,158 crore sales in 2015 and aims to increase this by 10 per cent every year.
Canon was venturing into new categories in India to maintain healthy growth rates, Kazutada Kobayashi, president and chief executive officer, Canon India, said.
Canon’s commercial products business generates half its annual revenue, an estimated Rs 2,379 crore in 2016. Canon’s camera business generates 37 per cent, or Rs 800 crore, of its total revenue in the country.
During January-June, Canon registered 9 per cent growth in sales, year-on-year. And as the festive season is nearing Kobayashi expects sales to grow further.
Last year, Canon India ventured into security solution products like cameras and scanners, medical equipment and projectors. The company expects these categories will drive growth. “We expect these businesses to contribute 15 per cent of our sales here by 2019,” Kobayashi said.
The rising popularity of smartphones and improved handset cameras have dented sales of point-and-shoot cameras. However, Kobayashi said high quality smartphone cameras were pushing sales of digital single-lens reflex cameras.
“Resolution of pictures taken nowadays are considered very important. So, DSLR sales will grow. Since the ticket size of such cameras is much higher than point-and-shoot cameras, it adds more to the topline,” he said.
Canon India imports all its cameras from Japan, China and Thailand. The company has a design research centre in Bengaluru. To strengthen its presence in the camera market, Canon is planning to double its branded stores in the next three years from 200 now.
