Ghani: Nigeria’s Printing, Imaging Market Has Growth Potential

B2C Business Director at Canon Central and North Africa, Mr. Rashad Ghani, spoke with Emma Okonji about the growth of Canon business in Nigeria and the initiative to collaborate with partners to empower Nigerian women with technology skills. Excerpts:  

Tell us more about your visit to Nigeria, and how will you describe the impact of your visit to the Canon business in Nigeria?

Nigeria is a big market for the Canon imaging and printing business and Nollywood in Nigeria is a fast growing industry that has embraced the Canon imaging and printing brand. So we at Canon are interested in further growing the Nigerian Nollywood industry and all Nigerian businesses that have chosen the Canon imaging and printing brand. I visited Nigeria to celebrate the successful conclusion of ‘Women Who Empower’ programme, initiated by Canon in partnership with Women in Successful Careers (WISCAR), which seeks to train women in digital skills. The woman empowerment programme is dedicated to train Nigerian women in printing, photography and content creation, designed to equip women with valuable skills and knowledge. My visit was significant because it gave me opportunity to meet with our partners and to give them the needed support and encouragement to grow the Canon business in Nigeria.  

How is the Canon business structured in Nigeria and Africa?

Canon operates regional offices in Africa. Six regional offices are based in Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, Cote d Ivoire, Morocco and Algeria and we manage the entire Central, East, North and West Africa from Dubai. The Nigerian team manages the Canon business in Nigeria and Ghana, the Cote d Ivoire team manages the West and Central African countries, the team in Morocco manages Canon business in Morocco, the Egyptian team manages the Canon business in Egypt, Lybia and Sudan, the Kenyan team manages Canon business in Kenya, while the Algerian team manages Canon business in Algeria and Tunisia.

How will you describe Nigeria’s market potential and Conon’s commitment to the growth of Nigerian market?

The Nigerian market for printing and imaging brand is immense with great potential. Nigeria has the highest population in Africa with vibrant youths that are technology inclined, and this is attracting a lot of businesses to Nigeria. Canon, which is a global printing and imaging brand, believes strongly in developing talents with technology skills in the areas of printing and imaging.

Tell us more about the Canon B2C business that you oversee in Central and North Africa?

The Canon B2C is about business to consumer that allows customers have access to Canon products like cameras, printers, lenses among others that will enhance their business as customers. All our products are in high demand in Nigeria and the sales of the products are industry specific. In Computer Village in Lagos, for instance, a lot of printers are sold there on a daily basis, and if you go to other markets and malls in Nigeria, the sales of cameras and lenses are high. So all our printing and imaging products are in high demand in Nigeria and volume of sales differ across all the markets where our printing and imaging products are sold in Nigeria, based on industry specifics. So it will be difficult to know which product sells highest in Nigeria, but all our products are doing well in the market.

How is counterfeiting affecting the Canon product sales in Nigeria, and what are the measures put in place to address counterfeit products in the markets where Cano operates?

Counterfeiting is not peculiar to the Nigerian market. It is a global issue that is affecting businesses globally and it could be addressed through education and communication. Many customers are ignorant of counterfeit products and they actually want the original products but most times they end up buying the counterfeit products because of ignorance, and more so because the counterfeit products, in most cases, look like the original products. So a lot of communication and education are needed to create awareness for the consumer to be able to differentiate between counterfeit products and original products. Canon, for instance, does a lot of training programmes to educate customers on the dangers of counterfeit products and how to identify original Canon products. Most printers in the markets are refurbished printers and customers buy them out of ignorance, thinking they are original printers from the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).  So there are various methods to identify original Canon printing and imaging products and we have trained several customers, including partners on how to identify original Canon products.

How will you describe the market penetration of Canon products and the growth of B2C business in Nigeria and other African countries?

Our market penetration in Nigeria and in other African countries is phenomenal, as the demand for Canon printing and imaging products in Nigeria and Africa is on the high side. We value the Nigerian and African markets so much and that is why we have our local team in Nigeria and in some African countries. Many brands in the printing and imaging market do not have their local team on ground and because we do have our local team on ground, we are closer to the people and we are meeting the demands of the people. So we have the local touch points and we have built local relationships over time.

For the Business to Consumer (B2C) growth, I will say the growth potential is on the rise and we are doing well as a business. Today the Canon business has grown four folds in Nigeria, considering the volume of sales when we started the business in Nigeria several years ago. We have good business relationship with our partners and they are instrumental to the rapid growth of the Canon B2C business in Nigeria and in other African countries.

How is Canon supporting Nigerian women in the area of technology development, using the Canon printing and imaging technologies?

We have several women empowerment initiatives going on in Nigeria because we believe in giving back to the society where we operate. As a global brand, Canon strongly believes in equality and women empowerment, and through the Canon women empowerment initiative, women are exposed to Canon printing and imaging technologies and through the process, women are given equal opportunities with their male counterparts.

How will you describe the Canon-customer relationship engagement in Nigeria?

Customer engagement is key for Canon and we are closer to the customers, specifically in Central and North Africa markets which I oversee. We have lots of activities for our customers and end-users and we have several shows that bring customers together and closer to the Canon brand. In some of the shows, we bring our products closer to the people to experience them and see how that can blend with them in the entire printing and imaging ecosystem. Recently we launched two new cameras and we allowed customers to get a feel of the cameras and how they can effectively use them. From time to time, we get customers feedback on what they want and how they want it and we come up with products that satisfy their needs.

So what are some of the customers’ feedback and their challenges?

The challenges vary. For instance, we have challenges with the currency, product availability in the market, among other challenges. So as the challenges evolve, we try to address them. Some customers have a feeling that Canon products are expensive even though they come with high quality. But for us, we will not compromise on quality and quality comes with cost.

End-users of Canon products have always testified of the quality of our products and we will try to maintain that quality always.

Do you envisage any fears about market competition?

Competition is key to our type of business and we not afraid of competition, because we welcome competition across all our markets. Without competition, any brand will likely fail, so we welcome competition because it helps us to innovate, improve and meet customers’ needs.

What is your take about the growth of smartphones, which come infused with digital cameras. How is it affecting the imaging business of Canon?

Yes, there is massive growth in smartphone market and the smartphones come with camera features, which enable people to take pictures with their smartphones, and we see this as positive.

Everyone seems to be comfortable using their mobile phones in taking good photographs and selfies, but the people also want to advance to a level where they can use digital cameras from Canon to take quality and professional photos. The smartphone cannot be compared with digital cameras, because they serve different people and different markets. Professional photographers will want their digital cameras to take quality and professional photos, which the camera in smartphones cannot achieve.

So we are not competing with smartphone manufacturers, but we are rather working with them. Canon cameras for instance, have features that allow people transfer images from Canon cameras to mobile phones, which they can share. Users will graduate from using mobile phones to using digital cameras in taking quality photos.

How is Canon applying emerging technologies to enhance innovation in its printing and imaging business?

Canon is interested in technology evolution and it is applying emerging technologies in the production of its printing and imaging business. So technology is evolving and Canon is growing with the new technology trends. Customers should continue to expect new innovations in our printing and imaging products. Our latest products are driven by emerging technologies.

What are your CSR initiatives and how are they impacting on your consumers?

Canon has a philosophy that is built around corporate social responsibilities (CSR). We are not just selling our products, we also show concern for our customers because we always believe in giving back to the society. We have training programmes for local youths in countries where we operate and we empower them with new skills that can help them earn a living and contribute to the growth of the society. We train them in photography and printing and many of them have started making money through the skills they have acquired.#

How effective is your after sales policy. Do you have policy that allows customers trade their old products for new ones?

We have local service team that handles after sales service, where all faulty printing and imaging products are repaired or replaced. We have drop and pick policy in our service centres where customers can drop faulty products and pick them up after repairs. For the trade-off policy, we have it, but not for all of our products. Recently we had a campaign where we called for old and faulty printers and we replaced them with new printers at affordable rates. We had such campaign for cameras as well in the past.