Japanese major Canon expects India to be No.1 in sales in APAC by 2035

Focus on improving channel strategy, create India focused products & eyes growing healthcare segment

Japanese major Canon is doubling down on India to make the country top in sales in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region by 2035.

This is part of the firm’s strategy to grow revenue in Asia.

“As long as India is growing rapidly, no one can ignore it. India will contribute 30 per cent revenue in Asia (without Japan) by 2035,” said Howard Ozawa, executive vice-president of Canon Inc, chief representative of Canon Asia Group, and president and chief executive officer of Canon (China).

Canon’s revenue in 2023 was $29 billion. Of this, Asia and Oceania represented 20.4 per cent, which is around $6 billion.

The company did not give the contribution from India either in percentage or absolute numbers.

For Canon globally the major revenue-generating categories include imaging (20.6 per cent), printing (56.1 per cent), medical (13.2 per cent), and industrial (7.5 per cent).

In India the biggest vertical has been imaging and printing. Recently the firm set up a subsidiary for its health care business and has plans to bring in its semiconductor equipment to the country.

As part of this growth, the company announced its strategy for the country called “Infinite India: Gateway to Growth”. This will include five steps.

The first is growing its channel coverage in India. This will primarily be expanding its presence in Tier-II and smaller cities. The second will be to strengthen its marketing strategy. The third will be creating products that meet the needs of consumers here. The fourth is to bring its semiconductor tools to India. And the fifth is expanding its footprint in the health care segment.

The company is looking at building its manufacturing capabilities in the country. “We do not have manufacturing capabilities in India. But with the Indian government’s ‘Make in India’ strategy we may also have to look at it. We are yet to decide on that,” said Ozawa.

He told Business Standard for India to be the engine for growth in the Asian region, the firm would have to act.

Manabu Yamazaki, president and CEO, Canon India, said some of the segments in which Canon was doing well included its video surveillance offer and the imaging and printing segment.

According to Yamazaki, the surveillance segment is clocking double-digit growth in India.

“The Indian printing market is Rs 10,000 crore -- from industrial to desktop printers. At present Canon has a 22-25 per cent market share. Our ambition is to make this 35 per cent in the next three years,” said Yamazaki.

When it comes to the customer breakdown in India for its imaging products, almost 78 per cent comes from the B2B segment and 22 per cent from B2C. Within this the wedding category is 42 per cent and the fastest-growing segment is the blogger and Vlogger category at 22 per cent.

Future plans
 

India to contribute 30% of Canon's revenue to Asia by 2035
 

Firm's printing market, currently at 22-25%, looks to increase it to 35% over the next three years
 

India growth strategy has 5 pillars: Increasing channel coverage, strengthen marketing, create India specific products, bring semiconductor products to India, and expand healthcare portfolio
 

Board evaluating setting up manufacturing capacity in India