Epson said that it expects to see strong sales growth in the Philippines in the fiscal year ending March 2018.
The Standard reported that the company made the announcement after “a 21 percent increase a year earlier driven by strong demands in the provinces”.
The economy in the Philippines grew by 6.8 percent last year and is set to grow by another 6.5 or 7 percent this year. Ed Bonoan, Epson Philippines, Senior General Manager and Head of Marketing, said: “We’ve been very dependent on the growth of the economy, so I think we’re quite bullish. The growth will probably be spurred by a lot of activities that we’ve been doing for the past years.
“What we’re seeing also is a lot of expansion in the provinces. So, the provinces are contributing a lot to our revenues right now.” He also commented that Epson was the leading printer brand in the Philippines and would continue to be so and Epson gained a 51 percent market share for inkjet printers meaning that “one out of two printers sold last year was sold by Epson”.
The OEM also has a 41 percent market share in the professional printers category and its POS receipt printer was number one for the seventh year running while the educational market showed a 67 percent share.
Bonoan commented: “Simply put, Epson’s goal is to heighten people’s creativity, and to create a sustainable society in which people enjoy safe and healthy lifestyles. The long-term successes in Epson inkjet printer, projector and point-of-sale printer categories have paved the way towards this direction, as much as the recent successes of Epson products in commercial and industrial printing and wearable technology.”
Toshimitsu Tanaka, President and Managing Director, Epson Philippines, said: “2017 is truly vital for the company as we continue to focus on making lives simpler and tasks easier with our innovations. These are what make Epson a trusted brand in many parts of the world.”