Brother International Corporation Gulf (BICG), a global leader in the development and manufacturing of printing, communication and digital imaging products for homes, SOHOs and enterprises, has reported a growth of 6 per cent in the region for FY ’08-’09 (April 2008 - March 2009), compared to the previous fiscal year. Amidst the steady popularity of Brother products among regional SMBs, the company is expecting to register 15 to 20 per cent growth in the current FY (April 2009 - March 2010), with its Colour Laser MFCs poised to achieve 15 per cent share in the UAE market. The announcement follows BICG’s plans to roll out an extensive expansion initiative to hit territories where there is considerable growth potential for its new products such as Turkey and Saudi Arabia.
After assuming management of a major part of the global organisation’s African operations in early April, BICG is steadily expanding its coverage as a regional control centre that directs the company’s business in more than 30 countries within Middle East and Africa. With the region’s Colour Laser Printer and MFC market projected to expand by approximately 15 per cent in 2009 according to a report from IDC, the manufacturer has outlined plans to launch a new range of products towards the end of the year. BICG is also expecting growth in the mono Laser MFC segments, albeit marginal due to the anticipated dip in the UAE’s overall print market in 2009.
“We are expecting to double the market presence of our Colour Laser MFC market in UAE in 2009, in anticipation of the projected surge in the Laser MFC markets by 2010,” said Shinji Tada, Managing Director, BICG. “In line with the aggressive targets we have set for the Middle East, we are planning to roll out new products that will incorporate the latest technologies, which we are developing for our MFC range. We are also seeking to repeat our success in the previous year and further expanding our partnerships with leading regional distributors.”
According to the ‘IDC Worldwide Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals Tracker, February 2009’, hardcopy peripherals shipments across the globe declined by 17.0 per cent YoY to 32.6 million units, while revenues from these shipments fell 13 per cent to USD 15 billion in Q4 2008. Amidst the slowdown, Brother Industries Limited (BIL), the global umbrella organisation of BICG, has recorded a 6.2 per cent share in the hardcopy peripherals and seen a 5 per cent growth from Q4 of 2007 to the comparable period in 2008. Furthermore, the report also revealed that Brother is the only vendor in the top five showing a positive trend YoY, with its unit shipments growing sequentially across Asia-Pacific and EMEA in both single-function printers and MFPs.
“By investing heavily into the technological advancement of our product portfolio, we are continually enhancing the features and functionality of our products and coming up with new offerings that rank us among the market leaders in the printer and MFC industry. This year, we will be focusing on further driving our growth and exceeding our current market standing within this fiscal year,” concluded Tada.
