At a time when regular compact cameras are losing ground to smartphones equipped with mega-pixel cameras, digital imaging firm Canon India is planning to get into the network security camera market.
“We have made forays into photo albums, cinematography and medical imaging. Sometime later this year, we will launch our first product in the Indian security camera market,” said Alok Bharadwaj, Executive Vice-President.
He was in Hyderabad for the national launch of Canon’s new series of inkjet printers. Bharadwaj said Canon’s product in the security segment was recently launched in some overseas markets.
“We see significant potential in this sector, as security concerns are rising, as also spends on security infrastructure,” he told mediapersons.
An Assocham study had predicted that the closed-circuit television market in India is likely to be worth ₹2,200 crore by 2015, growing at an annual rate of 30 per cent.
Canon, which has a market share of about 24 per cent in the domestic inkjet market, is aiming to increase this to 30 per cent this year, on the back of its new launches. Prices of the new printers range from ₹5,495 to ₹22,000.
The inkjet market is estimated to be worth ₹1,000 crore, and sees sales of 1.2 million units annually, with market leader HP cornering a 59 per cent share.
The Japanese firm says its new printers have lowered the running cost from ₹3.33 a page for a mono print and ₹5.32 for a colour print to 99 paise and ₹2.50, respectively.
“Some of our new launches are focussed on students. We have rolled out a marketing campaign titled ‘Super Student’ for our new range,” he said.