Canon aims India to contribute over a fifth of Asia revenue by 2035

Electronics major Canon is eyeing to increase India's contribution in the Asia revenue pie to over a fifth by 2035, a senior company official said on Thursday.

The company is "desperate" to grow sales across all business categories in India to achieve its broader aim of taking Asia as the top market in the world by 2035 from the present position of three or four, its executive vice president Hideki Ozawa told reporters here.

Replying to a question on business targets from India, Ozawa said the company is aiming for India to contribute 20-30 per cent of the Asia revenues by 2035. 

However, the company did not share the current revenues from the country.

Canon India's president and chief executive Manabu Yamazaki said its revenues have grown at double digits for the last two years since the waning of the pandemic and added that it aims to retain the same going forward.

At present, the company is active in the printing and imaging businesses in India and spoke about introducing or deepening medical devices and semiconductors, where it supplies essential items for setting up factories.

Yamazaki said the cybersecurity and surveillance business is also growing faster in India and added that it sees the Smart Cities mission accruing in a lot of business opportunities because of the thrust on digitisation and connected cities.

When asked about setting up a manufacturing base in India with India's growing prominence as a market, the company officials said a study is underway at its global headquarters in Tokyo for the same.

Ozawa also appealed to the Indian government to be more forthcoming with policies and tax regulations to ensure that a manufacturer like Canon gets keen on setting up a base in India.

Interestingly, Ozawa said Indian consumers do not necessarily seek out locally made products and instead have shown a preference for buying goods made abroad as they seek value for their spending.

Yamazaki said the company is the leader in the imaging space in India, courtesy of the popularity of its camera offerings across the market spectrum while it aims to increase its share in printing to 35 per cent in three years from the recent 22-25 per cent.

Ozawa said the company will be focusing on expanding the channel coverage by deepening its distribution in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, strengthening marketing, launching a product for India and also riding on the semiconductor manufacturing activities in the country as a part of its strategy.