Kyocera sets 5-year target to top market

By Nick Stanley

Laser printer manufacturer Kyocera wants to translate its success in Australia and the United States to the New Zealand market.

David Finn, Kyocera Australia's managing director, said while the company was the second largest supplier of laser printers in Australia and among the top five printer vendors in the US, many people in New Zealand did not know the brand.

He said Kyocera was making an effort to grab a larger share of the $51 million New Zealand laser printer market, currently dominated by Hewlett-Packard, with the release of a new range of laser printers and a new promotional campaign to raise awareness of its products here.

IDC figures put Kyocera's current share of the Australian laser printer market at 14 per cent and Mr Finn said if the company maintained the 53 per cent growth rate it had since 1995, it would overtake Hewlett-Packard by 2004.

He said the "catalyst" for the company's growth in Australia was the success of its entry-level laser printers, a trend the company would look to emulate in New Zealand by targeting the small office and home user with the new FS680 model that would retail for under $700 (excluding GST).

However, Mr Finn said Kyocera did not intend to set up a New Zealand office as the company believed its distributors, Dove Electronics and Technology Partners, could best support its customers.

A large part of the promotional campaign concentrates on making retailers and buyers aware of the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of a printer - something Kyocera demonstrates with a free CD-ROM that compares various printers' running costs over time.

Mr Finn claims Kyocera's printers are between 42 per cent and 70 per cent cheaper to run than competitors' models, due to the long life of the silicon printer drums and the fact that only the toner cartridges need replacement, rather than the whole unit.

As well as lowering the costs of replacing parts, Mr Finn said being able to replace only the toner cartridge lessened the impact on the environment, as it significantly reduced the amount of waste and the cartridges were made of biodegradable plastic.

Printer analyst with IDC New Zealand Patrick Pilcher said while Kyocera was a small player in the low to mid-priced laser printer market, it had some "fairly compelling differentiators" such as a low cost of use and the product's environmentally friendly nature.

He expected Kyocera to increase its market share as customers were now developing a "high awareness of a printer's cost to use", but that the company needed to work on building its profile in New Zealand as it was competing with more popular brands that had long-established network channels and brand awareness.