Epson targets 50% sales increase

JAKARTA (JP): PT Epson Indonesia, the marketing arm of Japanese firm Seiko Epson Corp, is aiming for a 50 percent increase in sales to US$33 million this year from $22 million in the previous year.

Company general manager, Yamamoto Kazuyoshi told The Jakarta Post that the company's sales volume is also expected to grow by 70 percent to 170,000 in 2001 from 100,000 units last year.

He said the target was based on optimism that domestic demand for inkjet and laser printers would continue to grow this year.

He noted however that demand for dotmatrix printers would continue to decline.

"We've received more and more orders for inkjet and laser printers from large companies," he said, but he was reluctant to provide further details.

He was speaking prior to the opening of Epson's showroom, called Epson Square, in the country's largest electronics shopping center, Mangga Dua Mall.

Last year, inkjet and laser printers accounted for 35 percent of Epson's total sales, while dotmatrix printers accounted for the remaining 65 percent, Yamamoto said.

He also said that Epson had about 22 percent of the country's inkjet and laser printer market share last year, while Canon printers had 40 percent, and Hewlett Packard 25 percent. The remainder was taken by Rexmark printers and other brands, he added.

"We're optimistic about increasing our inkjet and laser printer market share to 30 percent this year," he said, adding Epson would spend more on new product promotion this year too.

Epson also had about 95 percent of the country's dotmatrix printer market share last year, followed by Panasonic and Rexmark products, Yamamoto said.

According to him, 80 percent of total printer domestic sales last year came from inkjet and laser printers, while the remaining 20 percent was from dotmatrix printers.

He said that Epson's products had been distributed by PT Metrodata until October last year, when Seiko Epson Corp established Epson Indonesia as its marketing arm in the country.

Apart from printers, Epson Indonesia also sells scanners, cameras and projectors.

Epson's inkjet and dotmatrix printers sold on the domestic market are manufactured by Seiko Epson's subsidiary PT Indonesia Epson Industry in Cikarang, which started operations in 1994. Laser printers, scanners, projectors, and digital cameras are imported from Singapore and Japan.(05)