KOREA:LEXMARK IN PACKED PRINTER MARKET

[Anonymous]

Lexmark goes into packed printer market
Lexmark Korea knows it took on a big job when it decided to roll into a Korean printer market already teeming with competitors like Hewlett-Packard and home-grown Samsung Electronics.
Persuading customers to switch to Lexmark, still an unfamiliar name in the local printer industry, is expected to be the biggest challenge for the U.S.-based manufacturer that has a small staff of around 20 people in its Korean office.
But even the presence of such heavy competition could not dampen the company’s enthusiasm for entering what it sees to be a market equivalent to the size of Canada.
“We see Asia as a growth area for us. We’re investing heavily here,” said Bob Power, Lexmark’s Senior Regional Manager of Asia-Pacific.
Mirroring his views, yesterday, Lexmark announced that three new lines of laser-jet computers ranging between 1.3 million and 1.4 million won will soon hit local stores shelves.
Power emphasized that the Korean market is an especially attractive destination because while rivals may be dominating the demand for entry-level printers, the high-end market remains largely untouched.
“On corporate accounts, we see customers focusing not only on price, but how they can use technology to solve problems. So, I would say Lexmark will play all across the corporate marketplace with our corporate products,” said Power.
And given the steady expansion that the printer market is expected to experience in the future, experts say Lexmark’s move was well-calculated.
“The size is unspeakably large,” said Kim Uno, an analyst at Daewoo Securities who estimates the global printer market to be worth around $100 billion.
Having secured quite a few contracts with major corporations here, Power expects the Korean office to sign on more.
“We plan to mostly aim for the heavyweight customers, such as banks, leading businesses, schools and others that generate a huge demand for high-end printers that are affordable yet efficient,” said Yun Sang-tae, CEO of the company’s Korean operations.
The key to convincing industrial heavyweights to use Lexmark lies in not just the hardware, but the related “software” such as solutions that help companies slash costs, he added.
More simply put, Lexmark executives say businesses are most interested in how to carry out printing operations in the cheapest yet most secure manner.
“What we’re doing is actually helping them print less,” said Power.
By consolidating vendors and maximizing output solutions, that becomes possible, he explained

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November 11, 2005 at 10:45 AM