Canon to open 100 showrooms

Canon plans to open up to 100 showrooms across the region despite a challenging global print market.

Canon's showroom at the Gulf Pack and Gulf Print Exhibition at Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. Jaime Puebla / The National
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Canon plans to open 100 new showrooms across the Middle East and parts of East Africa as it targets regional sales growth of 20 per cent this year.

The Japanese electronics manufacturer opened its first showroom in the region in Dubai last June.

"We are doing very well, especially under the situation over the past few years where some countries have been politically unstable, but Canon's growth and reputation have been increasing," said Naoshi Yamada, the deputy managing director of Canon Middle East.

"Last year we had growth of 20 per cent in revenues and we are expecting the same level this year."

Saudi Arabia, Egypt and East Africa have been picked out as potential locations with all 100 showrooms expected to open by the end of the year. Mr Yamada expects these showrooms to help to drive growth across its business.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE rank as the fastest growing markets for the Japanese manufacturer, with growth across the company's product lines in both the consumer and enterprise markets.

Digital SLR cameras and large format printers (LFP) have enjoyed a boom recently as more construction projects have increased in the Arabian Gulf region. The company is putting a lot of focus on cross media printing, which incorporates digital media on to traditional print pages.

In an increasingly digital world, Canon has had to adapt its printing business to keep up to date with the technological advances and the exponential growth in mobile internet seen in recent years.

"Static print is not growing at the moment and in some areas it is declining," said Antony White, the European and UK professional print product business developer at Canon.

"Print has to evolve. Print runs are becoming shorter and more personalised and used alongside other forms of media like QR [quick response] codes. There is now image recognition that can make any piece of print interactive."

In the first Middle East Insight Report on the printing industry, 90 per cent of respondents said they still regarded print as a favourable medium for communicating with consumers.

"It is still seen as a driver and enabler and a lead to other types of media including web content," said Mr White.