Epson bets big on Kerala; eyes key market

As part of its initiative to 'empower even the smallest of studios in the smallest of cities across the country', printer solutions firm Epson India plans to set up 15 photo workshops across Kerala over the next three months to showcase its Mini Lab concept.

Ram Prasad, business manager (consumer product group), Epson India, said, "We have planned a series of 10-15 photo workshops across Kerala in the next three months where we would be taking our Mini Lab concept to the photo studios."

Adding that Kerala is a key market for Epson photo printers, he said, "Over the last few years, we have been the preferred photo printer company for most small studios in Kerala."

"We have a market share of close to 45 per cent in this category in Kerala. We expect to continue to grow in this market with our range."

The company did a pilot at the recently-held photo fair in Mumbai and the results pointed out that Kerala happens to be a key state where the concept of a Mini Photo Lab requirement is high.

"This is due to the density of population and also due to presence of large numbers of small towns which are seeing increasing wealth creation," he added.

Epson India, which is upbeat about its new offering, feels the adoption of its mini-lab solution is already widespread in certain pockets of the country and it aims to emulate the success in smaller towns of Kerala.

The company is also planning an advertising campaign for its products targeting Kerala.

"At the first level, we spend a sizeable amount at the national level to tap into the niche photo magazines. Apart from what we have done in the past we plan to have a good amount of ad spend for our entire photo range and more so for our Mini Labs concept with Photo Magazines, which are locally produced in Kerala, for the Kerala market."