SEIKO Epson Corp. reported it reached the 30-million unit sales mark of high-capacity ink tank inkjet printers in 150 countries and regions by the end of fiscal year (FY) 2017, ended March 2018.
The cumulative global sales of its printing business particularly showed a significant growth in emerging economies, including the Philippines, causing the proportion of high-capacity ink-tank products in the total inkjet printer market to grow annually.
Given this, Epson sustained its No. 1 position in terms of its share in this category, mainly due to strong brand recognition and abundant product lineup, per the IDC Worldwide Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals Tracker 2018Q1.
Epson initially introduced to the market its high-capacity ink tank inkjet printers in October 2010.
Koichi Kubota, director, senior managing executive officer and COO of Printing Solutions Operations Division at Seiko Epson said, these printing solutions “have a low environmental footprint, have lower running costs and take less time to print compared to laser printers and ink-cartridge printers.”
The company will further accelerate the shift from conventional ink cartridge models to high-capacity ink tank models in FY2018 (ending March 2019), with the end-goal of bringing the latter to the mainstream.
“Epson has transformed the printer business model, and will continue to provide comfortable printing environments that allow our customers around the world to demonstrate their creativity and enjoy high productivity,” he added.
This initiative will roll out in both emerging and advanced economies as it enhances the line with improved cost performance and ease-of-use.
Through these efforts, Epson plans to sell 9.5 million units of high-capacity ink tank products in FY 2018—an increase of 20 percent compared to the previous FY—accounting for about 55 percent of its overall inkjet-printer sales.
Japan-based Seiko Epson Corp. led the Epson Group comprised of more than 76,000 employees in 87 countries worldwide.
Its corporate presence in the Philippines commenced in 1998 and since then has grown rapidly into a billion-peso company.
The local subsidiary now has an extensive network of 77 authorized service centers with over 200 dealers and more than 800 shops nationwide.
Epson Philippines recorded a positive 20-percent average revenue growth in the past five years, mostly coming from the printer business.
Based on the IDC Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals Tracker report, its market share of inkjet printers in the country was at 55 percent in 2017, making it a leader in this segment.