NEW DELHI: After achieving an installation base of one million Deskjet
printers in India, Hewlett Packard (HP) will now invest in the upcountry market
to increase Deskjet penetration. The company has selected 25 non -metro cities
all around the country in this regard.
Speaking on the upcountry investment part of HP, Princy Bhatnagar, Market
Development Manager, Consumer Peripherals, HP India said that PC Deskjet connect
trend is widening because of upcountry PC penetration " We have already
chosen some non-metro cities to exploit the potential." He also said that
there are greater probabilities of connect in upcountry market than in metros.
Emphasizing on the region wise split he said, " The metros will have a
technical leap and rate of growth would be almost twice in these non- metro
cities as compared to metros. This is the reason we have decided to put our
support infrastructure in these 25 non- metro cities. The first step in this
regard is to expand billing locations to bring stability in the prices and for
this we are identifying channel locations in these cities", he added.
Announcing the achievement of installing one million deskjets in the country,
Princy said, "We attribute the success to our continuous focus on consumers
to provide them the best value proposition."
He also said that the company has sold 29,000 deskjets per month in the first
quarter of 2001. Emphasizing on the fact that the company is dominating the
market in this segment by 65 per cent market share every year, he said that it
is company's responsibility to take the market in the right direction.
" Driven by the Home and SOHO segment, Deskjet market will continue to
grow by 36 per cent and this will make the Laser printer market a little
stable." Princy insisted. He also said that other growth area for Deskjet
printers is the small medium business in the coming few years but it would taper
down by 2002 and migration to laser would start.
He also laid thrust on some new market creation opportunities that include
digital imaging market targeted at traditional photographers and jewellers and
in this regard the company has also launched its new 'HP Deskjet 930C photo'
printer. Priced at Rs 9,999, this printer comes in a combination of metallic
silver and black. It features easy to use software 'Fotolab' and 'Fotoreplica'
which gives an experience of digital photography.
Speaking on the channel strategy of the company, Princy said that retail
would continue to contribute 15 per cent of the total revenue and the company
will re- invest 25 per cent of revenue of retail in the awareness activities
with the support of retail partners. " The company will also focus on
sub-distribution approach in the commercial channel and mange top 100 districts
sub districts directly," he added.
Speaking on the upcoming technical trends he said that digital photography
would drive need for photosmart printer and the inception of bluetooth
technology would lead in the consumerization of printers.