Brother eyes Cebu as second growth area

Brother International Philippines Corporation, a developer and manufacturer of printing communication and digital imaging solutions, is now eyeing Cebu as its second growth area.

Brother director and general manager Toshiaki Isayama said that for only seven years of operation here in the country, their company was able to establish a strong presence in the market especially in the realm of printing and digital imaging business.

He said that covering 20 percent of the market for printer products is already a big achievement for a fairly new company like Brother, which also established an office here in Cebu three years ago.

Hence, after successfully penetrating the capital, they are now moving towards establishing stronger links with the corporate client-base from the Visayas and Mindanao areas.

“In our Cebu operation, we aim to achieve the same level of remarkable success that we gained in Manila by tapping all industries and big corporate clients based here,” said Isayama.

Glenn P. Hocson, Brother’s assistant general manager said that they are eyeing big growth in Cebu, which is considered the next biggest city in the country after Manila.

“We managed to develop our company strongly on the retail market and now we want to expand our corporate market. Being the second biggest city next to Manila, the city’s business environment is booming and so markets for multifunctional products are also growing,” stressed Hocson.

Some high net worth accounts that Hocson mentioned include Pepsi Cola and San Miguel Corporation.

Hocson said that their Cebu operations will also give specific focus towards attracting other multinational companies that have established operations in the city aside from their existing clients which are among the top 100 companies in the country.

And despite price surges in the market, Brother International ensures that their products are competitively priced and even cheaper compared to other brands. “We have competitive pricing but with emphasis on quality and efficiency. We look at the cost of ownership and also on the consumer experience of having a Brother product,” said Hocson.

Brother International Philippines Corporation is part of the diversified Japanese company Brother Industries, Ltd which delivers products and services to customers all over the world with 18 production sites and 40 sales sites in 37 countries and regions.

Brother delivers a wide range of distinguishable products and services from different business segments such as printing producing major product lines such as facsimile, printers, multi-function centers, electronic stationery, and typewriters.

They also have personal and home business segment producing home sewing machines and machinery and solution business manufacturing industrial sewing machine and tools.

They are also into other products such as content delivery system, mobile contents, network online karaoke and other computer-related electronics.

Brother distributes its products both under its own name and under original equipments manufacturer (OEM) agreements with other companies. — Rhia de Pablo