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Published on January 26, 2008

Japanese camera-maker Ricoh expects to gain market share in Thailand by designating East Enterprises as its sole distributor and launching two new products in March.

The company targets an increase in its market share from less than 1 per cent currently to 3 per cent this year, president Kazuhiro Yuasa said yesterday.

He said the former distributor of Ricoh in Thailand had not created enough marketing activities to promote the company, whose sales volume has not been good for many years. He believes the local camera market still has high potential for Ricoh.

"Although many business persons in this industry have said the growth of compact digital cameras is not going as well as in the past, I have a strong belief that there is room for Ricoh to grow. Eighty per cent of consumers nowadays buy digital cameras as replacements," he said.

Ricoh will launch two new products in March, to tap professional cameramen and customers whose hobby is photography, he said.

Kazuhiro admitted Ricoh's current growth was unsatisfactory and that it had to develop new products to compete with its rivals. Ricoh will concentrate on the professional-camera segment, which is a strong market for the company.

"Ricoh has acquired only a 2-per-cent share in the global market, but we are not worried. We will not chase our rivals just to increase market share. It is not the company's philosophy. Ricoh is well known as a camera for the professional segment and we will continue in our strong market," he said.

Ricoh generated global revenue of ¥2 trillion (Bt615 billion) last year. The company has targeted its sales revenue and volume to grow by 15 to 20 per cent each year, a decline from an average at 20-25 per cent in the past, Kazuhiro said.

Soontron Lurojruang, chairman of East Enterprises, said the company had sold 7,000-8,000 Ricoh cameras since being appointed as sole distributor last October, representing a 400-per-cent increase over the whole of the previous year. It targets the sale of at least 20,000 Ricoh cameras this year.

East Enterprises, which is now also the distributor of Leica cameras, has been an importer and distributor of cameras and accessories for more than 30 years.

Soontron said Ricoh in Japan would support a marketing budget of Bt15 million this year. East Enterprises will spend the money to educate sales agents in order to pass on knowledge to customers.

"The company earned revenue of Bt700 million last year, 90 per cent of which came from the camera business and the rest from photo printing. Now we have become the sole distributor for Ricoh, I expect sales revenue to grow by more than 10 per cent and to acquire a 10-per-cent share in the camera market," he added.

Nalin Viboonchart

The Nation