Canon has announced the company's key expansion strategy for 2008. Laying the foundation for a major expansion in 2008, the company launched 35 new state-of-the-art consumer digital imaging products to widen its product portfolio in India . This takes the total number of new products launched by the company in 2007 to 78. The company also announced the growth pillars that would drive the next phase of growth in India as company gears up to achieve the targeted revenues of Rs. 800 crores by the end of next year.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Kensaku Konishi, President & CEO, Canon India said that, “Canon's strong focus on providing the state of the art products with industry leading technology and reliability, as well as commitment to meet and exceed customer needs have helped us scale new heights in the Digital Imaging industry this year. Our enhanced product portfolio across categories, innovative marketing coupled with faster response to the market will be our key strategies towards high growth in 2008.” He further added that, “Our products have always incorporated years of technology innovation by Canon. The products launched today present revolutionary ways for consumers to interact and enjoy their experiences with never before seen features and concepts. The stylish looks and the advanced technology of the products give them a distinctive edge in the marketplace.”

At this launch Canon unveiled products from Canon's Imaging Communication Products division and the Consumer System Products division. Products unveiled under the ICP division included 8 Digital Cameras, 6 Digital Video Camcorders, 2 Digital SLR's, 2 Professional lenses and 2 Compact Photo Printers while the products Unveiled under the CSP division include 4 inkjet printers, 9 All-in-one, 1 Laser printer and 1 Scanner.

The growth pillars identified by the company to drive growth in 2008 would be the introduction of a comprehensive range of advanced digital imaging products incorporating most sophisticated new technologies but would also be differentiated by their user-friendliness, ease of use and aesthetic appeal. The second pillar would be to strengthen retail footprints across the country by increasing the number of dealers and adding 6 exclusive Canon showrooms as well as presence across all prominent retail chains in the country. The third pillar would be to strengthen the brand appeal using Sachin Tendulkar and roll out new marketing campaigns customized for specific regions under ‘our city' campaign. The last and fourth pillar would also focus on increasing manpower and expanding the organization. The company aims to attract 5 lac new customers to its ever-expanding customer base.

On the eve of the launch Alok Bharadwaj, Vice President, Canon India said, “2007 has been the best year for Canon with a growing growth rate of 38% and No. 1 position in Digital Cameras with 27.8% market share as per GFK and No. 1 in Digital Copiers segment with 27% market share by value as per IDC. We are growing faster than the industry and our focus is in nurturing new customer segments, adding new product categories and penetrating new geographies to establish stronger market leadership position.”

• The key growth pillars for Canon in 2008 are:
• Enhanced retail presence
• City focused marketing campaigns
• Organisational and Infrastructure expansion
• Enhanced retail presence

Increasing the company's presence across all retail formats, Canon will be opening 6 large exclusive Canon showrooms in all the major markets across India . The first exclusive Canon showroom will soon be launched in Gurgaon in the Ambience Mall. There will be 5 more such showrooms by December 2008 which are B2C and 3 additional showrooms for our B2B business. These showrooms spanning over 3000 sq feet per store, are meant for providing a complete touch, feel and experience for the entire range of Canon Digital Imaging products. The organised retail boom in India has also increased opportunities to create multiple touch points with the end consumer. Besides this, Canon has a strong presence in the country for its digital cameras across 13 major retail chains operating in India with presence in 51 stores, 31 flagship stores under Experience Zones and Digiclick Zones and over 1200 dealers. Printer retailing is done through 320 IT Imaging Zones across the country and 2700 IT resellers.

Overall Canon's presence has expanded to 4000 outlets and is expected to increase it to 6000 by December 2008.

New Focused Marketing Campaigns

“Hamaari Delhi” PIXMA Campaign

Canon embarked on the strategy of city focused campaigns. Towards that in the beginning of the year a program called ‘Aamchi Mumbai' was launched in Mumbai with integrated approach of Above the line and Below the line aggressive marketing activities. Re-enforcing focus on Delhi , Canon has launched yesterday a Delhi specific marketing initiative called ‘Hamaari Delhi'. Under the new ‘Hamaari Delhi' campaign, Canon will be investing in the Delhi and NCR regions through both above and below the line activities and marketing programs. The campaign will focus on Canon's Consumer Systems Products (CSP) division that deals with the entire range of IT peripherals from Canon's stable. The two-month long campaign will end on 31st December, 2007 . The company expects this focused marketing initiative to generate substantial business for CSP product range in the next two months and has allocated Rs. 2 crore for the same.

New IXUS “COOL Campaign”

Propelling a stylish brand imagery of digital cameras, Canon recently launched a new marketing campaign for the company's flagship IXUS range of digital cameras from. Being introduced during the festive season in India , Canon India has successfully positioned IXUS as a true cool statement. The campaign has been targeted for the emerging young Indian who is stylish and has high aspirations and considers personal accessories as a personality statement. In a country where 54% of people are below the age of 24, Canon India has attempted to churn out a marketing campaign that has successfully captured the pulse of its target audience. The highlight of the campaign was a TV commercial shot in an Ice Bar which is an unique setting never attempted in India previously.

Organization Expansion

Organisational expansion in terms of workforce is a key focus area for Canon next year. Canon had an organizational strength of 400 employees in 2006. The number has expanded by 30% to 520 as of now. We have made plans to expand the organization size to over 700 by 2008 end. The company will be undertaking a major recruitment drive to tap skilled and trained workforce to undertake key job roles and responsibilities in the organization. The infrastructure in terms of office space will also see major growth and we are looking at increasing the size of our offices by four fold across all branch locations.

On the service front, Canon will be expanding its Master Service Centre to Bangalore by March 2008. Canon currently has d two Canon owned Level 4 camera repair and service centres designed on international standards in Mumbai and Gurgaon to provide users of Canon digital cameras, DVs, DSLRs and lenses effective after sales and support. Over the course of next year the company will be expanding these Master Service Centres to more cities such as Kolkata to further strengthen the service support for Professional customers.

Expressing his delight at the new range of products Mr. Bharadwaj said, “The Indian consumer is demanding better products, higher on lifestyle quotient, good quality selling interface and state of the art after sales service on international standards. We are addressing all these needs by investing in good quality retailing as well as buying and post sales experience.” He also added that,” Our new products launched today are rich in functionalities and lifestyle. The launch of these 35 new products strengthens our portfolio to over 145 products. We churn our products @ 60% every year to refresh our whole range and offer our consumers the latest in technology.”

Canon is undertaking various innovative marketing strategies to ensure that the new products fulfill their promise by earmarking Rs. 70 crores towards marketing of products. The new campaigns will be designed to strengthen the Canon brand appeal using Sachin Tendulkar and roll out new marketing campaigns customized for specific regions. These initiatives include regionalizing the campaign message and timing to cater to regional seasons like Onam in Kerala, Ganesh chaturthi in Mumbai, Durga Puja in Kolkata and Diwali in the rest of the country etc.