Brother International India, a Japan-based manufacturer of printers, will concentrate on brand building and reaching out to consumers in India by launching stores to showcase its products.
Toshiaki Isayama, Managing Director, Brother International India, who launched TechCorner in Chennai, said, “It is a strategic decision to open the first showroom to display our entire portfolio in Chennai.”
Isayama said investments in the State are steadily growing and the manufacturing and automobile sectors are already booming, presenting a good potential. “We want to be one of the first companies here before the investment boom happens,” he added.
The store will also act as a service centre for Brother International products – printers, scanners, label printers and home sewing machine. The company will be launching the TechCorner in Bengaluru, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Pune in another three to four months.
Alok Nigam, General Manager, Sales, Marketing and Service, said, “As a brand we are not widely known to the end-users, so our focus is to reach them.” Nigam said the showroom will aid in connecting with the customers and widening the brand awareness.
Printing industry trendThe market share of the company is about 7 per cent for laser printers, with inkject occupying a small segment. The company aims to achieve 15 per cent market share by 2017 in the inkjet printer category. Even though the market share for laser printer is high at, inkjet printer has the potential to grow at 15-20 per cent, according to Nigam.
Another focus area of the company is providing low-cost printing options to offset the demand from the unorganised sector.