September 2, 2005 – Canon plans to double its sales in China by 2007, according to a report in the China Daily. The company plans to increase its sales to $1 billion, from last year’s $460 million.
“Canon China has rapidly grown in the past few years, and the momentum is even stronger these days,” the newspaper quoted Hideki Ozawa, president and CEO of Canon China, as saying. China accounts for a quarter of Canon’s sales in Asia excluding the Japanese market, Canon’s largest. However, Ozawa was quoted saying that he expects China to be Canon’s largest market in the near future.
Last year, sales of consumer electronics numbered $7.6 billion, according to a report by the research firm IDC. The report forecasts the Chinese market to grow annually by about 20 percent from 2005 to 2009. Annual sales of consumer electronics in China are estimated to reach $19.7 billion in 2009.
Canon last year received approval from the Chinese government to sell its products directly to Chinese consumers, boosting its sales. Canon, along with competitor Sony, are currently the top digital camera brands in China.
