In an attempt to secure a beachhead in the entry-level MFP market, Ricoh has launched three laser printers. The vendor has also announced a foray into UC and projectors. By Pupul Dutta
Ricoh India Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Japanese IT major Ricoh has launched three new models of laser printers and A4 Multi Function Printers (MFPs), announcing its entry into the affordable printer segment.
The printers are priced at Rs 6,500 for a laser single function printer (SFP), Rs 9,900 for a MFP (SP 100SU functions as a printer, scanner and copier) and Rs 12,800 for a A4 MFP. They have been targeted at the SOHO and SME segments.
The company also announced its foray into two new areas namely unified communications, where it would offer video-conferencing facilities and projectors.
“There is also production printing, which the company has been doing for the past couple of years and will pursue more aggressively,” said Takano.
Ricoh has also entered the IT services market offering Managed Document Services (MDS), which is a combination of Managed Print Services and Document Management Solutions. The IT major plans to rev up this offering and capture a sizeable market share through a host of aggressive marketing campaigns. “We are increasing and enhancing our business for our customers and strengthening our management for the same worldwide,” added Takano.
Three point program
Till recently, Ricoh’s major offerings consisted of network printers. That’s all changed with its entry into the burgeoning MFP segment.
Explaining the company’s strategy, Takano commented, “Ricoh India has a three point program. To begin with, we are strengthening our product line by introducing innovative products to meet the requirements of Indian customers. Secondly, we established a subsidiary of Ricoh Innovations Inc., a US-based innovation company in Bangalore on February this year, known as Ricoh Innovation Pvt. Ltd. Lastly, we plan to expand sales and service support to meet the requests of our Indian partners.”
In order to strengthen its laser printer business, Ricoh has invited partnerships from distributors and resellers. Currently, the company boasts of about 500 dealers, of which 300 focus on the MFP product line. “This year, we plan to add about 500 more partners taking the total number to a thousand partnerships in the country,” said Takano.
Talking about its projector business, Takano said that the company would soon launch Ricoh-made projectors in the market. “So far, we have been dealing with projectors of other brands as part of our IT services, hence, this year onwards, Ricoh will increase the number of projectors that it offers so as to complement its UC and other related IT services,” he said.
Despite being present in the country for some years now, the company has been unable to break the monopoly of HP and Canon in the printer market. According to Takano, the low-end, entry-level market is dominated by established players and Ricoh has had to be content with the third spot so far. “We are introducing the new lineup to improve our position,” he said.
Trends favor MFPs
V Balakrishnan, Chief Marketing Officer, Ricoh India said that the Indian market was looking to MFPs given their functionality and cost-effectiveness. “Though the volumes continue to come from SFPs, MFPs are the devices that bring in a percentage increase in business.”
The growing use of color has led to growth for laser printers.
“Another trend that we are seeing is the race to reduce the total cost of ownership. We are trying to achieve this through our genuine refill program,” said Balakrishnan.
“Our market research revealed that customers were using non standard consumables to achieve a lower cost of ownership. This was adversely impacting the performance of printers. With the introduction of our Genuine Refill Programs, Indian customers are assured of consistent printer performance and a low cost of ownership. This initiative is consistent with the Ricoh’s policy of harmonizing with the environment through products that reduce environmental impact,” Takano concluded.
pupul.dutta@expressindia.com