Big gains for Epson Philippines

Seiko Epson Corporation is welcoming the 40th year of its Epson brand with a round of good news in the Philippines.

Epson Philippines Corporation’s President and Country Manager Toshimitsu Tanaka will be holding concurrent positions starting next month as managing director of Epson’s regional office in Singapore, president director of Epson Thailand, and director of Epson Indonesia.

This comes on the heels of major gains for Epson’s key businesses in the country. The Japanese company takes the top spot when it comes to market share for its inkjet, point-of-sale (POS) systems, and projectors.

For inkjet printers, Epson grabbed a market share of 35.9% and 48.1% value share, according to International Data Corporation Asia/Pacific Hardcopy 2015 Q1 report. They garnered the top spot thanks to the sale of their L-series printers. This line of printers introduced Epson’s take on the continuous ink tank systems.

Epson also maintains its hold of the top spot for POS for the sixth year in a row. Their number one position is attributed to the sales of products like the TM-P20 mobile POS printer, which pairs with tablets for easier transaction with customers.

And for the first time, Epson has gained the top position for projectors in the Philippines, according to FutureSource Consulting. The company’s market share is at 31 percent, surpassing competitors in 2014. They’re developing both lower-end business projectors as well as high-end models for commercial and home use. The company even supplied Star City with seven high-brightness EB-Z8450WU projectors for the Star Dome attraction to project a 360-degree image.

Aside from the big gains earned by the company in the country, Epson is looking to expand its production in the Philippines. The company plans to invest around ¥12.3 billion or around P4.6 billion into the country as they expand their factory in Lipa, Batangas, making it the biggest factory, eclipsing the plants located in China and Indonesia. The expansion, which is set to be completed in 2017, will also result in hiring over 7,000 people to add to the approximate 12,500 local employees of Epson.

Tanaka said the move is intended to expand the production volumes of its inkjet printers and projectors. And that the country and our labor cost is considered more stable than China and Indonesia. Another advantage is because Filipino employees speak English, making it easier to transfer technology to our shores.