Epson PH exec looks forward to next big thing

EPSON PH president Toshimitsu Tanaka

Epson Philippines Corp. (EPC) president and country manager Toshimitsu Tanaka looks forward to more growth opportunities for his company in the next half of 2015.

After nailing the top spot in the sale of printers and projectors in the Philippines, Tanaka still feels there is more work to be done. He will not be resting on his laurels just yet.

For him, what’s more important is knowing where the next big wave will come from—perhaps a one-time, big time thing.

The market for high capacity inkjet printers in the Philippines “is quite big against the entire [Southeast] market,” Tanaka says. “Here we can see that the Philippines is an advanced market in this category.”

Tanaka is also part of Epson’s Regional office (Epson Singapore Pte. Ltd), serving at the same time as president director of Epson Thailand and director of Epson Indonesia.

Tanaka, who has been with Seiko Epson Corp. for 34 years, says that working with Filipinos has been an eye-opening experience for him.

Filipinos “have very good hospitality skills, and they’re basically tight-knit. They know how to enjoy their work,” he says.

The unique brand of Filipino hospitality has made Tanaka feel more at home here.

Throughout his tour of duty in the Philippines, starting in 2012, he has come to appreciate one important lesson—that close relationships with his employees and co-workers make every task manageable.

As president and country manager of EPC, Tanaka toughened the Epson brand by creating new business models to fit local requirements. His efforts paid off and the company attained significant market share in the printer, projector and business systems categories.

He admits that making the Philippines No. 1 in Southeast Asia was a long but worthwhile effort.

In the end, Tanaka relates, it all boils down to understanding the customer’s needs.

That is the ultimate key to winning the race, he says.

In 2014, Seiko Epson Corp. (SEC), based in Suwa, Nagano, Japan, invested 12.3 billion yen, or about P4.5 billion, in subsidiary Epson Philippines for the construction of a factory of new inkjet printers and 3LCD projectors in Lipa, Batangas.

The factory is set to begin commercial operations in 2017.

Also in 2014, EPC garnered a commanding 35.9-percent market share for the L-Series and captured the market leadership in printers. This marks an 11.3-percent rise in market share from that of last year.

For the projectors, Epson also achieved another milestone, sealing its top position in the region with a share of 31 percent.

This is a positive development, especially when most companies are now going paperless.

The Point-of-sale (POS) and dot matrix printers continue to be Epson’s strongest products accounting for 96 percent of the market.

“All the lessons learned in the past year will be reflected in our new products,” Tanaka says.

Also, Tanaka has made it a point to consistently improve the company’s sales performance year after year.

“Now, we have to improve our business performance gradually and consistently,” Tanaka says.

Last June 12, Seiko Epson celebrated its 40th year in the industry.

Sticking to its commitment to transform businesses as customer and societal needs change, Seiko Epson will continue to fill the demand in printing, visual communications and manufacturing.