LEXMARK TARGETS SOUTH KOREA

[Anonymous]

Lexmark Targets No. 3 Printer Vendor  
Lexmark International, the
world¡¯s second-largest printing and imaging equipment company, aims to
emerge as the No. 3 printer supplier in South Korea by 2007.
Lexmark held a launching ceremony yesterday for its Korean sales affiliate at the Westin Chosun Hotel in downtown Seoul.
“Korea, one of the largest printer markets in the Asia-Pacific region,
is important for our growth subjective in the geographic region,¡¯¡¯
said Eddie Noel, executive vice president of Lexmark Asia Pacific
Printing Solutions and Services Division.
 
Models pose next to a latest E series multi-functional printer unveiled
by Lexmark International, the world¡¯s second-largest printer vendor,
at the Westin Chosun Hotel in downtown Seoul, Thursday.
     
Noel said Lexmark would deliver great value to Korean printing and imaging equipment users.
“For the first two years, we hope to be the No. 3 printer brand in
Korea. After that, we¡¯ll set a new goal,¡¯¡¯ Noel said. Citing data by
market researcher International Data Corp., Lexmark said the Korean
printer market is estimated at 2.5 million units _ 2 million inkjet
printers and 500,000 laser printers. Korea accounts for some 2.5
percent of the world printer market. HP and Samsung dominate the Korean
printer market. They are reportedly controlling 80-90 percent of the
domestic market. “Lexmark¡¯s initial focus in Korea is on small- and
medium-sized enterprise market segments, and will expand into the
consumer market later,¡¯¡¯ he said.
Even though Kentucky-headquartered Lexmark is not so familiar to Korean
consumers, it is known in over 150 countries. It has 29 offices in the
Asia-Pacific region.
“Korean corporations are among the most discerning information
technology equipment purchasers in the world and they will easily
recognize the superior technology and ease-of-use of Lexmark
printers,¡¯¡¯ Lexmark Korea representative director Yun Sang-tae said.
On the sidelines of the Lexmark Korea launching ceremony, the printing
equipment maker peeled the wraps off 20 laser multi-function printer
products, ranging from entry-level low-end E series monochrome laser
printers for small businesses to sophisticated C series color laser
printers.
The U.S. printing equipment maker also introduced a number of
industry-specific printing output solutions that help businesses reduce
printing costs, along with a demonstration.
“Lexmark strives to meet customers¡¯ needs and focus on after-sales
service instead of just selling hardware. Although we have an
aggressive marketing campaign planned, Lexmark wants consumers to
promote the Lexmark brand themselves by word-of-mouth,¡¯¡¯ Yun said.
Lexmark, only next to Hewlett-Packard (HP) of the U.S. in the global
printing equipment and services market, controls roughly a quarter of
the worldwide market. It earned $5.3 billion in sales last year. HP
commands more than half of the global printer market.
Apart from HP, which supplies computers, portable communication devices
and related peripherals on top of the printing equipment, Lexmark
focuses only on printing.
The U.S. firm offers a broad spectrum of printers, including inkjet,
monochrome and color laser printers, print management software,
document-delivery applications and customized enterprise printing
solutions.
Lexmark, which started off as a printing equipment operation of global
computer giant International Business Machines (IBM), was spun off in
1991. The company has been supplying printer and copy machine products
in Korea in the form of original equipment manufacturing (OEM) to
global office equipment giants such as Sindo Ricoh

 

[Author]

June 15, 2005 at 11:10 AM