In an exclusive interview with ITVoice, Mr. C Sukumaran, Director – Consumer System Products Division &Image Communication Products Division – Canon, reveals his strategies for business in India.
ITVoice Media :- Kindly brief us about your assigned role and responsibilities
Mr. C Sukumaran :- I have been a part of Canon India since the past 20 years, having initially joined in 2000 as a Senior Account Manager. Over the years, I have managed teams regionally and nationally across both B2B and B2C segments, which has provided immense scope of learning and honed my go-to-market strategies and customer relationship management skills. In 2016, I took over the leadership role for spearheading the Consumer System Products division, covering a vast range of all-purpose printers, both inkjet and laser catering to home segment and SME segment.
About six months ago, I took a new leap in my career trajectory, by taking over as the Director for Imaging Consumer Products division. Being one of the leaders in the photography space, it is a matter of pride for me to work for the Canon’s camera business in India. As part of my new profile, I will be responsible for the supervision and development of the ICP business along with the CSP business in India. Aided by my strong marketing and sales experience, I will be playing an instrumental role towards strengthening the market presence of the camera business in India and strategize to take Canon India to new heights.
I truly believe that India has immense potential for both imaging and printing business, given the population demography of the country. I am confident of taking the business to newer heights in terms of service, growth, market share and profitability. One of my key focus will be to understand customer feedback at all steps and provide our products, solutions and service approach, in line their expectations, thereby delivering ‘Customer Delight’. We will continue providing quality products to our consumers by introducing and promoting ground-breaking technologies across product categories.
ITVoice Media :- What is company vision to increase the market share?
Mr. C Sukumaran :- India being a young nation presents tremendous opportunities for us in the field of imaging. For Canon, India has been among the best performing regions consistently since the past few years. Moreover, the brand has been winning customer’s trust, owing to continuous innovation and enhancement across our product propositions.
“From a camera business perspective, India is undoubtedly an emerging photography market and we feel more and more youngsters are willing to take up photography as a potential career option. The rich heritage and cultural diversity of the country provides a beautiful canvas for users to capture and preserve, thereby contributing towards growth of both camera and printing businesses.”
Furthermore, from a printing business perspective, the increasing entrepreneurship in the country, especially the emergence of small businesses in tier-2, 3 & 4 cities has been a key imperative for our B2B business growth. In line with these opportunities, we will continue to focus on high-quality products, providing a great customer experience and after-sales support and expand our reach across regions in India, along with integrating B2B and B2C business in every domain.
ITVoice Media :- Please share the strategies company opt for the growth plan.
Mr. C Sukumaran :- We are a customer centric business and our strategy is based on consumer buying patterns and insights, hence we have what is called a ‘full lineup strategy’.
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We want to cater to all of the demands in the market, so we have mirrorless and DSLR, which combined makes an EOS hierarchy, thereby aiming to plug the gap and suit customer demands across product options and price bands
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We have a range of printersvarying from INR 2k-20k in order to cater to the diverse needs and different buying capacities of consumers
