The expected surge in demand for cameras, printers and video recorders for the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai will propel the growth rate in the company’s east China region, according to Hisahiro Minokawa, Canon China’s vice president in charge of the east China headquarters.
“I believe each visitor to the Expo will carry a camera. More importantly, it’s a huge visitor group even compared with the Olympics,” Minokawa said during an exclusive interview with Shanghai Daily yesterday.
Canon also believes the Expo event will also fuel demand for multi-functional printers.
Canon China has seen average annual growth of more than 30 percent in the past few years.
After facing a “tough time” in the fourth quarter last year and in the first quarter this year, Canon’s sales have started to rebound, Minokawa said.
The Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said that in the first four months of the year, digital camera exports from China were valued at US$1.38 billion, a 34.76 percent drop from a year ago.