Olivetti returns to India with inkjets

NEW DELHI: Olivetti's Indian arm, Spice net Ltd (formerly known as Modi

Olivetti Ltd) is chalking out new strategies to gain the lost market share in

the printer segment. Efforts are also on to revive and rebuild the faded brand

equity for this Italian IT giant known for its technological expertise and

aesthetic appeal.

Though Olivetti is a late entrant in this segment, Spice hopes to revive the

brand image in the Indian market. As part of this initiative it has chalked a

five pronged strategy to position the product as a time tested, reliant and

affordable document printing solutions. Later, the company plans to extend its

product range and make its presence felt in Indian market by focussing on the

large PC peripheral range.

The five pronged strategy is to create mind share and regain lost brand

equity, position Olivetti as a price performance product, dispel the

misconception of inkjet consumables being expensive, introduce the complete

product range steadily and create a new breed of resellers for its product

range.

Expressing his views on this initiative, Spice net CEO Arun Seth said,

"We are ready to take the market headlong. With a strong after sales

service, these products will gain their market share within a short time. The

positive customer feedback has given us the impetus to build a strong equity in

the market."

Olivetti products are state-of-the-art and their consumables are far ahead in

performance compared to the present market players, he claimed. For instance,

Olivetti inkjet produces 30 per cent more copies per cartridge as compared to

the present product leader, he added.

These inkjet printers are primarily targeted at the home, SOHO and corporate

personal printers segment. They are of various ranges: The inkjet printers

include an entry-level, printer for corporates and mobile printer.

Mobile printer will be first of its kind in the category, since it can run on

batteries. Multifunction products have two fax machines, which doubles up as a

scanner printer, based on the inkjet technology, unlike conventional thermal

faxes. Another multifunction device is Studiojet, a three-in-one,

scanner-copier-printer.

According to Spice net GM (Marketing and Sales) Himanshu Hajela,

"Breaking price barriers is a major prerogative, which inevitably water

down to the strategy that is implemented. But the major challenge is to create

awareness among end user that inkjets are not expensive."

Commenting on the infrastructure requirements, Hajela said it is already in

place as Spice net is already providing service to various clients countrywide.

Nine branches in metros will act as the logistics nodes as also service centers.

According to Spice net’s Manager (Marketing and Sales), Jaideep Bhavnani

the greater focus will be on appointing the right type of resellers. We want

partners in our progress, those who believe in growing with the growth of the

product range.

Global Communication partner and reseller, Gurjit Singh said, "Market

feedback has been very good, we have already been able to sell a good quantity

of these products. Besides this, Olivetti has given us good support for the

product sales pitch." The firm hopes to have a turnover of Rs 10 crore to

Rs 12 crore by this December and capture about five percent of the market share

in the printer segment.