Canon sees digicams fuelling 17% growth

The local marketing arm of Japanese electronics firm Canon, Inc. is anticipating sales to grow by about 17% year on year to P2.8 billion in 2008 with digital cameras accounting for more than half. Canon Marketing (Philippines), Inc. President Ramon G. Arteficio told reporters the company expects net income before tax to improve by nearly 30% to P130 million by the end of the year from P101 million in 2007. For the first two months of the year, Canon Marketing Philippines more than doubled profits. "We are very excited about this year despite the political noise. I think we are moving. Some people grow but lose money but we are growing with lots of profit. The strong peso has helped. We are spending wisely, marketing wisely and pushing our products well," said the local representative of the world’s largest digital camera maker. After the digital camera’s overwhelming success, Canon now wants Filipinos to be able to print their own pictures. "A lot [of people] are taking pictures but a few are printing them … What we are doing now is we are making it easier. Our objective is to [encourage Filipinos] not only to take pictures but also print them," he said. Canon Marketing Philippines kicked off the year with 16 new digital imaging products led by four point-and-shoot digital cameras. "Most of them have improved features, higher megapixels, and features such as motion detection and higher zoom. This is first of a series of launches. There is no better time to capture great photos and video than summer," Mr. Arteficio said. Canon Marketing Philippines also introduced a proprietary digital imaging processor called DIGIC III, which enhances internal image processing resulting in faster speed, more accurate auto-focus, and improved image quality. Mr. Arteficio said his company will rehabilitate regional branches and put up a service center beside each of them. Canon Marketing Philippines has regional branch offices in Cebu, Davao, La Union, Legazpi and Pampanga. — Ruby Anne M. Rubio, BusinessWorld