Canon eyes USD one billion turnover in India by 2015

The company said it will increase its marketing spend by 25 per cent to Rs 150 crore next year and plans to take its total retail presence to 6,000 outlets across the country.

"This year, we are seeing a sales growth of 56 per cent. This is the highest growth we have achieved...We expect that we will be able to achieve a turnover of USD one billion by 2015," Canon India Senior Vice President Alok Bharadwaj told reporters.

Last year, Canon India posted a turnover of Rs 840 crore. The company expects to clock a turnover of Rs 1,260 crore by this year-end.

Bharadwaj said retail expansion, building its brand image and enhancing its services are some of the top priorities of the company for the next year. "At present, around 50 per cent of our revenue comes from Tier II and Tier III towns. We want to increase to about 70 per cent in the next two years," he said.

As part of its expansion plans, the company is looking to reach out to around 6,000 outlets by the end of next year from 4,000 outlets at present. Besides, it is also looking at opening more exclusive display centres across the country from its existing three.

"We will increase our marketing spend by around 25 per cent to around Rs 150 crore next year. This will go in various marketing programmes, road shows, retail expansion and enhancing our business partners," he said.

For this year Canon had earmarked Rs 120 crore for marketing spend. At present, Canon cameras are available in 203 towns while its printer business is spread in 415 towns across the country.

The company today launched 22 imaging products, including three compact cameras, a camcorder, seven inkjet printers and a digital SLR camera from its EOS range.