Fuji Xerox aims for top market share spot in Myanmar

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Fuji Xerox is aiming to be the top player in printers and copiers in the nascent market of Myanmar within three years, after it opened a new office in Yangon on April 1.

Although the top spot is currently occupied by rival Japanese firm Canon, Fuji Xerox’s corporate vice president Masashi Honda said his company expects to wrest that title over with closer support for clients expanding into the country.

“Myanmar has a higher total population than Korea, and we foresee very high opportunity in this market,” he told reporters in Singapore last Thursday.

The company sold 2,500 multi-function print and copy devices in 2012, and expects to sell about 3,000 this year. With the new business operations in place, Fuji Xerox expects to sell 20,000 multi-function devices annually by 2022.

Previously, the company’s presence in Myanmar was limited to sales activities through a local dealer.

The new Yangon office will enable Fuji Xerox to work closer with the same local dealer in carrying out sales and consulting services, as well as make a push for the company’s more premium products such as high-speed colour publishing systems.

This is especially important for global clients such as other international corporations looking to expand into Myanmar, said Honda, as the local dealer cannot provide the level of quality support required.

Although Myanmar has seen some reforms since it elected a new government in 2011, doing business in the country is still considered risky, not least because of the political climate.

Yoshio Hanada, newly-appointed general manager of the Myanmar branch, told Techgoondu he foresees quite a number of challenges.

For one, there are infrastructural issues such as reliable Internet access. The technical knowledge of staff on the ground is also important, and the company has taken on an all-local staff in Myanmar in part to train them.

“The situation in Myanmar is still changing, and we will remain flexible and monitor our progress,” Hanada said.