| By :
Jennifer Robinson
For a long time Canon Copiers was the market leader in the photocopier industry, catching up and eventually overtaking Xerox by the clever use of dealerships to market and distribute products and developing the first commercial colour photocopier. Canon seemed to have an unassailable position. Xerox direct sales struggled to compete with Canon’s localized dealership network. Canon successfully re-branded the Xerox machine as the “copier”. However, other manufacturers noted Canon's success and began to copy and disrupt Canon's route to market. Ricoh, one of the first rivals of Xerox, was early to spot the potential of digital copiers and became the leader in that sector. It invested heavily in digital photocopiers and document stations ahead of market trends. Creating a motivated sales network, it was Ricoh that eventually toppled Canon's dominance by purchasing IKON, Canon's largest dealer worldwide at the time. Konica Minolta produced a popular series of Bizhub colour copiers and printers that challenged Canon Copiers core business. Meanwhile, under the superb leadership of Anne Mulcahy and Ursula Burns, Xerox re-invented its brand appealing to the new generation of internet focused buyers and capitalizing on its brand name. Canon Copiers, critically, was resistant to a developing market. Although copier buyers increasingly showed a prepossession for e-commerce, Canon remained stuck to a crumbling dealership network. Imported photocopiers were to further undermine Canon Copiers’ dealership program as smaller dealers began purchasing from regions and countries with greater price discounts. Today Canon Copiers appears to be adrift, failing to support the new internet market for copiers and with a decimated dealership network. Although its product range is strong, Canon Copiers seems devoid of strategy and has failed to connect with a young internet focused audience. However, the news is not all bad for Canon. Canon Inc. has become one of the leading suppliers of digital cameras worldwide and can learn from that platform to rebuild market share in photocopiers. In the area where Canon Copiers failed, Canon Cameras has succeeded. Canon Digital Cameras embraced the web community. Canon used the internet alongside existing camera dealerships with spectacular success. Canon Digital Cameras succeeded in becoming a core product and has become synonymous with quality and speed. We are entering into a new document era that will see the continued transition to electronic document solutions. Xerox has embraced that change and become one of the world leaders in Document Management Systems. For Canon Copiers to endure the new marketplace and not become a footnote of history it will need to fundamentally rethink its market in order to increase its attraction to a new generation of office procurement people. The paperless office presents a challenge to all manufacturers of copiers and printers. In an environmentally adjusted society, increased control of electronic documentation is set to become a expanding industry. The adaptation of traditional copier industries to meet new market demands will undoubtedly result in casualties. It remains to be seen how Canon Copiers will respond to the developing online document market.
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