Ricoh shareholders arriving at Friday’s AGM within Tokyo’s labyrinth like Shinagawa Prince Hotel may have experienced déjà vu on hearing the company’s plans. Facing what CEO Zenji Miura calls a “watershed” year, this recent entrant into the 3D printing market will invest more than $2 billion in finding a new direction. Will this strategy be successful, or will it lead to further confusion about the direction of the business?
Ricoh are a multinational company operating in over 200 countries and employ 109,361 people worldwide with 35,700 based in Japan, where the company was founded in 1936. The business has multiple revenue streams from office imaging, production printing, network system solutions, industrial products and more recently 3D printing.
While recording profits that would be the envy of most pure-play 3D printing businesses, Ricoh failed to meet forecasts for the second consecutive year. read the rest here