Sharp wants to expand sales to companies

After losing Brazilian domestic market share, the Japanese Sharp bet in the segment of multifunction printers for corporate clients as a strategy to recover sales in the country.
"Sharp has always been a very well-known brand of consumer product, but now we see an opportunity to gain space in the corporate market," says the General Manager of sales and marketing at Sharp Brazil, Thiago Ribeiro.
He noted that the company, after taking over the management of the Brazilian subsidiary in 2011, made an assessment on the local market and identified in the segment of corporate printing potential to expand sales.
"The number of prints has grown in recent years because many sectors are still resistant to scanning files," he points out.
According to Ribeiro, the advancement of the alternatives for transmission of digital documents and campaigns to reduce paper usage in enterprises were also assessed by Sharp. He explains that, in order to expand sales, electronics maker also invested to offer document processing solutions.
"Our proposal is to turn the printer on a workstation, because you can't limit the product to a single function," he says.
The Executive also points out that one of the greatest competitive advantages of Sharp's in print quality to offer low cost, which will help boost sales, whereas the Brazilian economy can't live your best time. "We are optimistic, despite the economic scenario, because while all are reducing investments, Let's zoom in to ensure market share and offer products with cost-effective," he reveals.
Scanning
The manufacturer plans to launch in the next few days an application for smartphones that will allow users to send print orders remotely, scan files to the cell phone and manage documents. "These solutions are the result of the company's investment in innovation at 10 research centers," says he. The company invests today about 5% of total revenue in research, distributing intakes in four centers in Japan, two in China, two in England, one in India and one in the United States.
Global sales of printers and copiers from Sharp totaled 155 billion yen in the last fiscal year, a rise of 15.3 percent compared with the same period in 2013. The number released by the company regards the sales projection for the fourth quarter and no effective sales during the period.
According to the Executive, large printers sold in the Brazilian market are imported and the Sharp has no plans to manufacture the product in the country, because the costs would be higher, affecting the competitiveness, and the majority of suppliers of raw materials is in Asia.