Strengthening Sales and Marketing: China
Canon established Canon China in 1997. With China's entry into the WTO in 2001, we launched full-scale sales and marketing activities. Over the past five to six years, we have boosted advertising and publicity through television and newspapers to raise Canon's profile in the country. Currently, a large proportion of Canon's sales in China are attributable to consumer products, mainly cameras. Eventually, however, we expect to see sales growth in office products. During times when business is booming, managers are desperate to secure profits through investment and pay little attention to streamlining offices. When generating profits becomes more difficult, however, more serious attention is given to streamlining and reducing expenses. In the future, if economic growth in China slows down, in line with what happened in Japan, demand for solutions to streamline operations will increase. Toward this objective, in the future, we will leverage the brand recognition that we have cultivated for cameras and strengthen sales and marketing of office products.
