Kensaku Konishi has been leading the Initial surge of Canon in India that began from 2006, A surge he attributes to Major Strategic Realignments and the Aggressive Pursuit of Localised Campaigns. In this Exclusive Discussion with Virat Bahri, He talks about the Company’s long term plans in India and the Recent Key Initiatives being taken to Build on The Initial Momentum.
B&E: Companies like LG and Samsung moved into manufacturing when the Indian market became substantial. Do you have any similar plans?
KK: Canon products are smaller with higher value. Our conditions for setting up a factory are as follows – once we set up a factory, it will not only be for that particular domestic market, but all over the world. When we evaluate India in that context, basic infrastructure is not catering to our demand like regulation, transportation, ports et al. Competition is not only there in India but Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and even China. Thus, there is no schedule to open a factory in India. The closest plants are in south east and East Asia – China, Malaysia, Thailand, et al. Work force is not a problem. Indian people have the capability and creativity. The issues are beyond that.
B&E: You will be doing up to 100 launches this year. Why is this necessary and what is the direction that innovation is taking in the camera category for Canon?
KK: All Canon products are digital. Fortunately or unfortunately, the product cycle is getting shorter. For analogue cameras, one product lasted for around 3 years. In digital cameras, the lifecycle is around one year. The young generation wants to buy every six months. We make these launches for stimulation of the market, technical advantage and also with a view of competitors. In terms of innovations in cameras, people linked innovations to megapixels earlier. Now megapixels are big enough. Too many megapixels implies problems in handling the data. Now the key focus is high sensitivity. Even in dark conditions or twilight conditions, we try to make good pictures. We need to have high sensitivity cameras that adjust to such conditions just like our eyes do. We are trying to make zero-failure cameras. In any situation, all that people need to do is to click. The camera will automatically adjust and provide good pictures.
B&E: You have seen different markets while working with Canon. What, according to you, are the unique facets about working in the Indian market and with Indian people?
KK: I have been with Canon for over 30 years, and seen different markets (like Hong Kong and Singapore). The Indian customer is, in one word, pretty diverse. We have to be focussed and put resources in particular areas in order to succeed in India. Some markets are very aggressive, while some are relatively conservative. There are a lot of shopping malls in the south and west, as well as Gurgaon and Noida; but not so much yet in Kolkata. Language, culture and background also affect consumer behaviour. We have realised the need to allow the local or regional branch to decide their campaigns as much as possible. Headquarters cannot control everything. And sometimes in national campaigns, we have not done so well.
B&E: Companies like LG and Samsung moved into manufacturing when the Indian market became substantial. Do you have any similar plans?
KK: Canon products are smaller with higher value. Our conditions for setting up a factory are as follows – once we set up a factory, it will not only be for that particular domestic market, but all over the world. When we evaluate India in that context, basic infrastructure is not catering to our demand like regulation, transportation, ports et al. Competition is not only there in India but Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and even China. Thus, there is no schedule to open a factory in India. The closest plants are in south east and East Asia – China, Malaysia, Thailand, et al. Work force is not a problem. Indian people have the capability and creativity. The issues are beyond that.
B&E: You will be doing up to 100 launches this year. Why is this necessary and what is the direction that innovation is taking in the camera category for Canon?
KK: All Canon products are digital. Fortunately or unfortunately, the product cycle is getting shorter. For analogue cameras, one product lasted for around 3 years. In digital cameras, the lifecycle is around one year. The young generation wants to buy every six months. We make these launches for stimulation of the market, technical advantage and also with a view of competitors. In terms of innovations in cameras, people linked innovations to megapixels earlier. Now megapixels are big enough. Too many megapixels implies problems in handling the data. Now the key focus is high sensitivity. Even in dark conditions or twilight conditions, we try to make good pictures. We need to have high sensitivity cameras that adjust to such conditions just like our eyes do. We are trying to make zero-failure cameras. In any situation, all that people need to do is to click. The camera will automatically adjust and provide good pictures.
B&E: You have seen different markets while working with Canon. What, according to you, are the unique facets about working in the Indian market and with Indian people?
KK: I have been with Canon for over 30 years, and seen different markets (like Hong Kong and Singapore). The Indian customer is, in one word, pretty diverse. We have to be focussed and put resources in particular areas in order to succeed in India. Some markets are very aggressive, while some are relatively conservative. There are a lot of shopping malls in the south and west, as well as Gurgaon and Noida; but not so much yet in Kolkata. Language, culture and background also affect consumer behaviour. We have realised the need to allow the local or regional branch to decide their campaigns as much as possible. Headquarters cannot control everything. And sometimes in national campaigns, we have not done so well.
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles
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