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growth opportunities
A demonstration of Brother’s new
100 pages per minute inkjet printer
was the highlight of a pan-European
event held in Berlin, at which the
office technology company unveiled
its growth strategy for the next five
years.
The ‘world’s fastest mono inkjet printer’
still has a few glitches to be ironed out – it
was shown printing simplex only – but
Brother is confident it will be ready for
launch within the next 12 months.
With print speeds 58% faster than
desktop laser printers, laser quality output,
automatic two-sided printing, 50% lower
energy consumption than high end lasers
and a low total cost of ownership, the
printer is an exciting proposition at a time
of renewed interest in inkjet technology
for office applications and managed print
services.
Within the broader context of Brother’s
five year strategy, this flagship-in-waiting
reflects two key themes, a move into the
enterprise space and greater diversification
within Brother’s printer offering, as the
company leverages its ownership of
laser, LED, inkjet and thermal printing
technologies.
Brother’s focus on diversification is
not confined to print but extends to the
development of new product areas, such
as scanners and cloud-based services,
providing resellers with new opportunities
to grow sales and expand their business.
Back to Growth
Under the strapline ‘Back to Growth’,
Brother aims to double sales to 1000
billion yen by 2021, with an interim target
of 750 billion yen by 2015 – nominally
50% higher than the 492 billion yen
turnover achieved in 2011.
This appears daunting,
but as Toshikazu Koike, global
president and chairman of
Brother Industries (Japan),
pointed out, if figures are
adjusted to take into account
the projected exchange rate
in 2015 (1 Euro = 100 yen),
today’s sales are equivalent to
600 billion yen i.e. only 150
billion yen short of the 2015
target.
He added that if you take away
the negative effects of exchange rate
movements, the 2011 turnover figure of
492 billion yen is higher than the 2007
figure of 567 billion.
Brother expects much of
its growth to come from
developing markets in Brazil,
Russia, India and China, but
it has also set ambitious
targets for mature economies,
including a rise in turnover
from 387.31 billion yen to 525
billion yen.
Printers & Solutions
Brother plans to increase sales of its Printer
& Solutions business, which currently
accounts for 65% of company turnover,
by developing new markets for print
technology and by expanding into the
enterprise sector with faster machines and
integrated print solutions.
Following its successes in the labeller
and A3 inkjet printing markets, Brother is
turning its attention to the fast growing
mobile printing sector with the launch of
the RJ series of 4in thermal printers for
field-based applications such as ticketing,
labels and receipts. These robust printers
(and accessories such as car mounts and
card readers) join the company's existing
series of portable A4 printers for mobile
sales people.
Brother claims that thermal print
technology is preferable to inkjet
technology in harsh environments – the
RJ series has IP45 accreditation indicating
that the devices are protected against dust
and water sprayed from any direction.
Moreover, today’s thermal paper looks
and feels more like plain paper and has a
5-year guarantee for legibility if stored in
the right conditions.
As well as giving resellers another
25
Opportunity
knocks
n
Sales to grow 25% by 2015
n
‘World’s fastest’ office inkjet
printer to be launched within 12
months
n
Brother Solutions Interface aids
integration with print solutions
n
Vendor-neutral b-guard cost control
and secure print application for
SMEs and enterprises
n
New range of robust 4in thermal
printers
n
Enters network and desktop
scanner market
n
Brother Online gateway gives
access to cloud solutions from
Brother and third parties
n
Launches web conferencing
solution
Toshikazu
Koike, global
president
and chairman
of Brother
Industries
(Japan)
Brother’s RJ series of 4in thermal printers
provides a durable mobile printing solution
for field workers in logistics, emergency
services, engineering and manufacturing.
QL700
label printer
continued...
More opportunities for resellers, as Brother puts print solutions
and new technologies at the heart of its growth strategy