The OEM is looking to “invest more” in the UAE (United Arab Emirates) and Saudi Arabia.
Khaleej Times reported on the OEM’s plans, which are said to be planned to “strengthen its team and service offerings despite the fact that Gulf governments face budgetary challenges”. Jason Whiley, Epson Middle East’s Director of Sales, told the newspaper that “we have ambitious plans to grow and that’s the reason we are investing in terms of people, services and products in the Gulf countries [e]specially in the UAE and Saudi Arabia”.
Whiley spoke to the news outlet at the Gitex Technology Week event, and noted that consumer business has been “very strong for the company in both the Gulf markets”, while Epson has also enjoyed market share “of more than 30 percent in consumer segments”. Both of the markets are witnessing “year-on-year growth in sales as well as market share”, Whiley adding that “our growth is almost flat for business segment printers which is [a] good sign as it’s not declining”.
In terms of consumer demands and priorities for printers, Whiley noted that they are looking for a “combination of speed, printing quality and running cost”, with the OEM’s latest ink tank machines featuring its “revolutionary refillable tank technology” for an “unbeatable combination of convenience and value for homes, home offices and small offices”, offering “print without cartridges at a very low cost”.
The OEM demonstrated both the Stylus Office TX510FN and Stylus Photo TX710W at the event, with both using the PrecisionCore printhead technology and redeveloping the WorkForce Pro replaceable ink pack system (RIPS) to offer businesses “a series of inkjet products that deliver uninterrupted printing for up to 75,000 pages without the need for a consumables change”.
Khaleej Times added that the printers “are expected to help Epson further accelerate the shift from laser to inkjet within the business printing market”, with the RIPS technology in particular created to “help businesses take advantage of the convenience benefits of a localised printer fleet, but with the predictable costs of a centralised model”, as well as being “designed to address the impact of printer downtime and maintenance issues within the workplace”.