Epson Thailand Defies Market Trends with 8% Revenue Growth

Despite a shrinking IT market, Epson Thailand achieved an 8% revenue growth in 2023 through strategic focus on the B2B sector, continuous product innovation, and market share gains. This success also stems from Epson’s well-established brand image associated with sustainability. Notably, the Epson SureColor S-series signage printers experienced a 37% sales increase, reflecting successful market penetration. This was driven by aggressive marketing, economic stimulus, and tourism recovery. With these achievements, Epson Thailand plans to launch a solution center showcasing sustainability innovations for its 33rd anniversary.

Mr. Yunyong Muneemongkoltorn, Managing Director at Epson (Thailand) Company Limited, said while 2023 was a challenging year, it proved that his company had implemented the right strategy and stayed ahead of the industry. In 2023, the IT market shrank by more than 10% from 2022, however the company’s estimated revenue grew by 8%, which company move to shift its focus to the B2B market five years ago. So, when the B2C market turned volatile, it was not affected.

Aside, the company has constantly enhanced its product line-up and created new S-Curve. Epson’s innovations have spawned new market segments and developed a new base of customers. The company, moreover, has successfully stolen market share from not just competitors but also the tech industry. Today, Epson Thailand’s revenue has not relied on just old products or any single product category. Importantly, because Epson has connected its brand with sustainability from the very beginning, it stays on the top of customers’ minds when they are looking for green solutions.

In 2023, Epson SureColor S-series or signage printers achieved outstanding performance. Its sales skyrocketed by 37% as Epson Thailand successfully attracted many enterprises from non-brand devices that have limited technology, quality and services. Of all brands in the signage-printer segment today, Epson is the Top-of-Mind brand among most entrepreneurs. Epson signage printers’ impressive performance based from increasing active marketing activities and special promotions of shopping complexes / hotels, the tourism industry’s positive factors, the government’s economic-stimulus measures, and the 2023 general election that spurred the use of out-of-home and mobile media.

Epson scanners also achieved 37% sales growth thanks to the Act on Electronic Performance of Administrative Functions of BE 2565, which has already taken effect and required many government agencies to prepare e-documents for people over online platforms. Banks, libraries, and educational institutes, meanwhile, showed a higher demand for the permanent storage of data in digital format. Work over network systems also became more common among the business sector. All these factors contributed to the scanners’ growth.

Epson WorkForce business inkjet printers also grew by nearly 30%, confirming Epson Thailand’s success in taking market share from office photocopiers that rely on laser-printing technology. The company has constantly communicated with entrepreneurs about PrecisionCore Heat-Free Technology’s advantages and benefits to ensure they know Epson inkjet printers, with heat-free print heads, consume just little electricity, protect users from ink-dust harm, and low maintenance with few parts production, and replacement. Better still, Epson offers customers various interesting options to own its printers – purchases or rental with either pay-per-page or a monthly flat-rate fee.

Epson projectors also grew well or by nearly 20% mainly because of high-brightness laser projectors such as over 5,000 lumens brightness with replaceable lens, and business laser projectors like Epson 2000-series. Aside, Epson had launched as many new models as possible and supported the launches with marketing activities throughout 2023 to reach out to new customer groups while some competitors suspended or curbed their marketing campaigns.

A significant growth was recorded in Epson SureLab professional mini lab printers. Growing by 10% last year, this product category proves increasingly popular and reflects the growing number of mini labs across Thailand in the post-COVID period. Its growth was also driven by rebounding tourism and more CSR activities, which encouraged startups and SMEs to invest in Epson SureLab.

Epson EcoTank, so far, recorded just slight growth because price competition was fierce in 2023. However, it should be noted that as of December 2023, Epson has remained the market leader with 57-per-cent market share in the ink tank-printer market. While Epson SureColor F-series textile printers and Epson’s robotic arms did not achieve growth in line with the world’s economic slowdown.

Mr. Yunyong says Thai economy might be slowed down in 2024 in the face of soaring household debts and non-performing loans, which may affect consumers’ spending as well as the private sector’s investments. Global economy has not yet recovered fully either just as geopolitical conflicts in various regions affect the world’s oil prices. Still, Epson Thailand is confident that the government’s economic-stimulus plans – implemented via the country’s 2024 expenditure budget – will spur and stabilize Thai economy. As for its 2024 target, Epson Thailand aims to maintain its growth rate or ensure its businesses will grow as much as last year. To achieve the target, it will invest in its five strengths namely S-curve strategy, Sales model,Service excellence, Solution center and Sustainable Value.

Because Epson has never stopped exploring opportunities and building new S-curve, its business always has a good chance of achieving further success, lowering risks from any volatile market, and differentiating itself from competitors. Lately, it has launched two models of inkjet printers with Heat-Free Technology for black-and-white printing each for EcoTank and WorkForce categories to compete directly against black-and-white laser printers. Currently, several offices, educational institutes, and hospitals still mainly print documents in black and white. They therefore look for printers with a low cost of printing, medium printing speed, but the ability to handle a huge load of printing jobs.

Four new models for the segment are multifunctional Epson EcoTank M2050 printer and single-function Epson EcoTank M1050 printer. Both come with an affordable price, a low printing cost, and a high-capacity ink cartridge that can print up to 6,000 pages. Their prints are clear and with DURAbrite ET ink, waterproof. They are also compatible with Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct and Ethernet functions. Their warranty period lasts as long as four years or up to 50,000 pages. From WorkForce are two new models namely: multifunctional Epson WorkForce Pro WF-M5899 printer and single-function Epson WorkForce Pro WF-M5399. Integrating sustainability value to printing efficiency, they are energy-efficient, compact in size, and able to print at the speed of 25 ipm. Moreover, they come to the market with high-speed duplex printing function and connectivity to Cloud as well as mobile phones.

Sales Model is another of Epson’s solid strength. The brand has developed various sales options so that customers can choose how they want to acquire high-quality Epson printers based on their budget, type and volume of printing jobs in each month. Customers can customize the options too. For example, Epson’s EasyCare enables customers to control their printing costs without the need to stock ink, as Epson handles ink deliveries based on prints done. Service fees can be calculated based on per-page printing cost.

Service excellence is here for customers because Epson has accorded importance to both pre-sales and after-sales services. Epson has long developed pre-sales teams for various product categories to support the development of solutions that best suit the needs of each enterprise. Moreover, Epson has developed digital channels for customers to access product information with ease. Also, there are now as many as 182 Epson service centers in Thailand,which 140 can provide on-site services for comprehensive customer services.

This year, Epson Thailand will also relocate its office to the 22nd floor of PUNN Smart Workspace. As a part of the relocation, it will spend more than 30 million baht on developing a new Solution Center over 600 square meters where customers can receive first-hand product experience before making a purchase decision. On display will be product exhibitions and demonstrations that cover all categories of Epson’s products. In addition, this new facility will serve as a training center. Distributors from across the country can come to the center to learn more about technology and solutions in support of their sustainability. There will be several zones namely commercial / industrial printers, which include textile printers, signage printers, and photo printers; business printers; projectors; and robotic arms.

“Our investment in this new solution center underlines our commitment to changing the way Thai enterprises is operating for the better through innovations and solutions, which not only increase productivity but also strengthen sustainability to create a carbon-negative society. It also spotlights our efforts to make it easier for our customers to operate their businesses in a sustainable way,” Mr. Yunyong explains.

Sustainable Value is part of Seiko Epson Corporation’s DNA. Guided by its ‘Environmental Vision 2050’, Seiko Epson has seriously striven to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and also to stop using energy from underground resources. As of December 2023, it became the first company in Japan’s manufacturing industry to switch fully to renewable-power electricity within the timeframe it announced back in 2021. By procuring 876 gigawatt hours of renewable energy per year for all of Epson’s factories and offices in the world, Epson has forecast that it has lowered carbon emissions by 400,000 tons a year.

Moreover, Epson has widely promoted renewable energy usage by increasing its energy-production capacity and supporting new energy sources through collaborations with partners while lowering energy consumption in its production process as well as other product-related processes. It intends to continue circular practices until it becomes a carbon-negative organization.

Epson Southeast Asia has responded to the sustainability policy by driving sustainability issues into the mainstream of business practices in all relevant countries through sustainable products, innovations, and CSR activities. It has even joined hands with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in implementing environmental initiatives with big impacts. Epson Thailand, meanwhile, has educated consumers continuously about sustainable value in Epson technology and products such as Heat-Free Technology and UltraChrome. Moreover, it has conducted activities for green causes on a regular basis. In 2023, its ‘33 x Trees’ campaign showed the company was stepping into its 33rd year with the determination to protect Thai forests. It also focused on conserving and rehabilitating forestlands damaged by forest fire. Posing a major national problem and spreading smog, forest fires harm not just forest resources but also quality of life.

The campaign seeks to engage Epson’s employees, their family members and media in workshops on forest fires, their impacts, buffer zones, and forest fire-fighting operations. ‘True Story of Forest Firefighters’ in Nakhon Ratchasima is a part of the campaign, just like activities that highlight Buddhist rituals’ link to the prevention of forest encroachment as well as forest fires. The campaign, for example, include ‘Consecration of Lub Lae Forest’ in Ratchaburi and ‘Caravan of Trees as Offerings to Temples’ in Lampang. The caravan gave 333 teak saplings to temples for their use or community use. The campaign has also invited Lord of the Jungle, Wathana Boonyoung, to produce short clips about his forest adventures to share stories the new generation will never experience by themselves.

“On our 33rd anniversary, we would like to thank customers, supporters, distributors, partners, our employees, and media for their support for Epson Thailand. Staying ahead of the industry, preparing for changes, or adjusting to changes in a timely manner while achieving business growth every year is possible for us because of good partnership. Without you, we would have not been this successful. So, all of you are truly precious to us. From now on, Epson Thailand is determined to not just present great innovations, solutions and services that will deliver maximum value to consumers but also to join all sectors in fostering sustainability in our customers’ organizations, our business chain, as well as Thai society,” Mr. Yunyong concludes.