Umax is contemplating a direct presence in India through a joint venture by
the first half of 2003. According to George Tsai, Asst VP-Sales, Umax is looking
for the right business partner with whom a joint venture can be established. He
however, refused to reveal further details about company’s plans.
Umax has been selling scanners in India through its distributors (now only
Neoteric) since 1996. And last year, the company had to face serious problems
relating to service support. The need for a direct presence is probably an
outcome of this.
Because of service issues, Umax’s marketshare dropped considerably to
around 10 percent in 2001 from around 50 percent in 1999.
However, according to George, the slump in marketshare was due to a batch
problem in one of Umax’s most popular model - 2000P introduced in 2000.
Direct presence in India by the first half of 2003 |
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Marketshare drops to 10 percent in 2001 from 50 percent in 1999 |
"We were surprised to know that 2000P model was giving problems in
India, whereas no other country faced problems in this model," says George.
"The problem could have been caused by the high dust content in India,
which I am sure our competition also must have faced," he adds.
According to George, Umax has solved this problem totally and is back in
business with newer models. He also revealed that the company plans to appoint
third-party service providers throughout the country.
Meanwhile, the company has decided to launch the 2400 dpi - USB2 scanner
Astra6700, and two new digital cameras Astrapix 425 and Astrapix 430 next month.
Umax has also, in a worldwide decision, consolidated all its individual
businesses under one banner called the Powerchip and Umax Group (P&U).
NELSON JOHNY