Canon Aims to Overtake Xerox in Multifunction Copiers
SEP
06 — Canon Inc. said surging sales of new models will help it overtake
Xerox Corp. as the world’s largest maker of color copiers that also
print, scan and fax.Canon, already the world’s biggest maker of
monochrome copiers, has 21 percent of the $8.6 billion multifunction
color copier market by shipments, behind Stamford, Connecticut-based
Xerox’s 25 percent. Canon released three models in July that are
selling faster than the company can make them, Masaki Nakaoka, head of
imaging products, said in an interview yesterday.“At our current
production pace, we can win the world’s biggest share by the end of
this year,” said Nakaoka. He declined to give a forecast for revenue
from the copiers.Canon is counting on demand for multifunction color
models to help maintain its operating margins, the highest among
Japan’s top consumer electronics and office equipment makers. Sales of
the machines are likely to increase 21 percent a year between now and
2010, said Tomoko Mitani, an analyst at Gartner Japan Ltd.“With the
release of the new models, Canon can be No. 1 for a limited time,”
said Mitsuhiro Osawa, an analyst at Mizuho Investors Securities Co. in
Tokyo. “After that, they and Xerox and Ricoh Co. will perform at the
same level.” Ricoh is Japan’s third-largest color laser printer maker.
Xerox Turf
Fuji
Xerox Co., a copier maker owned by Xerox and Fuji Photo Film Co., said
it has advantages in marketing over Canon and other rivals.“We have a
strong sales channel to big enterprises, so we will keep that
position,” said Minoru Nakajima, a spokesman at Tokyo-based Fuji
Xerox. He declined to comment on the outlook for multifunction color
printer market share.Gartner Inc. estimates that within five years,
color models will account for 90 percent of the global market as Canon
and rival makers may lower the cost of using the machines. Users spend
between four times and five times as much to operate a color copier,
than a monochrome one, according to Gartner.Color models accounted for
12 percent of copiers sold globally in 2005, up from 9.7 percent the
previous year. Canon said it expects global sales of multifunction
color copiers by all makers will increase 40 percent this year.Canon in
July introduced its “image RUNNER” series, which can print between 36
and 51 color pages a minute. The company is making 5,000 a month, which
isn’t enough to meet demand, Nakaoka said. The company sells the
machines for between 1.85 million yen ($15,800) and 2.35 million yen
($20,100).