The OEM has a ‘twin strategy’ for further market penetration and increasing its brand exposure by 2017, despite difficulties in setting up a manufacturing facility in India.
Toshiaki Isayama, Managing Director of Brother India, told The Hindu that it hopes to double its seven percent share in the monochrome market, its 10 percent share in inkjets and its 20 percent share in home sewing machines. He described Brother as a “late entrant to India” and said that its performance was unimpressive compared to its Asian counterparts, but he wants it to be in the top three by 2018.
Asked about a move to build a manufacturing facility in India, Isayama said that that was the top management’s decision, while such an initiative was hampered by a lack of component vendors compared to China, as well as issues with complex taxation and infrastructure.
Isayama also commented that Indian Prime Minister Modi’s Make-in-India initiative was a good opportunity for Japanese manufacturers, although most of them want the Indian Union government to address major issues, on a priority basis.
Brother recently opened its first ‘TechCorner’ or experiential centre in Chennai, and it plans to open more centres in Mumbai, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Pune, Bengaluru and Kolkata in the coming months.