SHARP GUNNING FOR 20% GLOBAL SHARE OF COPIER MARKET BY '10
Publish Date : 3/10/2005 2:18:00 PM Source : Moneyplans.net Staff
Sharp Corp. (TSE:6753) plans to increase its sales of copy machines to more than 1 million a year by fiscal 2010 to grab a 20 per cent global market share.
Through improved materials and processing methods, the company has developed a toner cartridge that is 30 per cent more efficient than previous models. By introducing environmentally friendly products with stronger security features to protect information, Sharp aims to expand its share of the growing market for digital color copiers and catch up with market leaders Canon Inc. (TSE:7751) and Ricoh Co. (TSE:7752).
The firm forecasts sales of 650,000 copiers and a 13 per cent share of the world market for fiscal 2004. Sharp intends to launch this fall a color copier with numerous energy-efficient features, including a new toner as well as a photoreceptor unit that has double the lifetime of previous models.
Color copiers represent 20 per cent of the company's total copier sales, but it plans to increase that ratio to more than 50 per cent by fiscal 2007.
The market for color copiers is expected to grow from 25 per cent of the total market at present to around 40 per cent by 2008, providing an opportunity for firms to grab market share from their competitors.
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