Epson Malaysia enjoys 'strong year' with 13% growth in 2013

By Digital News Asia July 9, 2014

Double-digit growth across all business segments
Plans to grow textile & garment printers business

Epson Malaysia enjoys 'strong year' with 13% growth in 2013 EPSON Malaysia Sdn Bhd said that in the financial year 2013, from April 2013 to March 2014, the company achieved 13% year-on-year growth. The company however did not disclose actual revenue.

Its financial performance was led by 40% growth in the sales of Epson inkjet printers, 10% growth in business systems like point-of-sale and passbook printers, 11% growth in commercial and industrial business, and 10% growth in projectors, Epson Malaysia said in a statement.

Shimizu Tomoya (pic), country manager at Epson Malaysia, said 2013 was “a strong year” for the company, which achieved growth in all its key markets.

“Our success is built upon the innovative technologies that Epson has brought to market, and upon our focus on understanding the needs and expectations of our customers and then providing products and services that exceed these expectations,” he claimed.

In 2013, the overall Malaysian market for inkjet printers shrank by 5.2% compared with 2012. However, the market for high yield printers increased by 50.6% over the same period.

Epson reported it was able to increase its quantity share in this segment from 11% in 2012 to 13.6% in 2013 and increase its value share from 14% in 2012 to 18.9% in 2013.

Epson’s success in the high yield printer market is due to the growing popularity of its L-Series refillable ink tank system printers.

Epson Malaysia enjoys 'strong year' with 13% growth in 2013 Danny Lee (pic), general manager of sales and marketing at Epson Malaysia, said the company’s new offerings within the line of L-Series printers made its products “even better suited” for office and business environments of all sizes.

“Not only does Epson offer the versatility of wirelessly printing from whatever device the user prefers, but we are also successfully addressing the issue of cost management that is a priority in any business,” he added.

According to Futuresource Consulting, Epson has been the No 1 brand of projectors in the world for the last 13 years. Futuresource Consulting further reports that in 2013, Epson became the No 1 brand of projectors in Malaysia with 18.3% market share.

Malaysian consumers are increasingly investing in immersive home audiovisual systems and Epson projectors offer the best colour brightness and image quality in their respective classes.

The company also saw strong demand for interactive projectors in both the government and education sectors in line with the growing adoption of e-learning throughout Malaysia.

Epson’s continued innovation in the projector market has helped establish the brand’s leadership in Malaysia through the introduction of products like the ultra-short throw Epson EB-595Wi Interactive WXGA 3LCD Projector, the world's first 3LCD interactive projector that allows for operation simply by touching the screen with a finger.

Within the commercial and industrial printer market in Malaysia, Epson grew by 10% year-on-year in 2013.

The company said its commercial printers successfully fulfilled the needs among Malaysian businesses for printers that were cost effective and reduced the total cost of ownership, that produced high quality and high colour accuracy prints, and that were also environmentally friendly.

Going forward into 2014, Epson will focus on delivering even better printers for the signage and display market; and on introducing a scalable photo microlab to Malaysia that will allow instant photo prints at events and at printer kiosks.

It will also build upon the recent introduction of Epson SureColor F6070 and F2000 textile and garment printers to work with the Malaysian textile industry toward producing more high quality finished garments.

Lee said that 2013 was a year in which Epson’s technology leadership and keen customer focus was very well received across Malaysian markets.

“We will build on this success in 2014 where our priorities will be to expand inkjet printing into the business market, enable more smart classrooms using Epson interactive and touch-enabled projectors, and participate more in the textile and garment industry,” he added.

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