Epson gung-ho about rural market

Bangalore

May 30, 2008

Epson India is happy with the growth it has experienced last fiscal and is
all set to maximize on the returns thereof in order to reach out more
effectively to its consumers. According to S Ram Prasad, Business Manager-Consumer
Product Group, Epson India, “Last fiscal was phenomenally good for us,
especially the consumer segment where we recorded a 30 percent growth and closed
at near Rs 80 crore.”

The key growth drivers according to him were photo printers and MFDs apart
from consumables. “We have seen a lot of activity in rural India, especially
the home segment, upgradation of photo labs and studios. This, clubbed with our
B and C-class strategy, has put us in a very good position to move forward,”
Prasad indicated.

According to Prasad, the challenges include low customer awareness in terms
of installation and operational know-how. “We initiated the awareness drive in
all of the above areas in local languages and that move received a very positive
response,” he added.

Commenting on the new products from Epson, Prasad said, “PictureMate, which
we launched recently, has been very well accepted especially by photo studios
across rural India because of its low-cost as well as ease of use. We are now
trying to give it an urban appeal by incorporating added features like USB
adopters, fashion photography options, mobile charging features and better
battery option. Innovative software features will also be incorporated and the
new product will hit the market by June end.”

Indicating that after having integrated their channel last year, all the
products are now available to all partners, Prasad said, “We have begun to
give combined product incentives as well. Against that backdrop there will be
three bursts of product launches this year-in June, September and December
within the consumer segment that would benefit both partners and customers.”

Sharing his thoughts on the trends in the consumer segment, Prasad said, “In
the last one and a half years we have seen that a lot more customers are using
genuine consumables today. Thanks to our customer campaigns, the barrier between
genuine and compatible inks has reduced. People are willing to pay a little more
for better quality products and services.”

He further added, “We will work to continuously innovate and devise
solutions that increase productivity. Our focus will continue to be on both the
business and consumables segments so that we get to an enviable position in
business segment and enhance our presence in consumables.”