Usually when we talk about printing industry, it mainly revolves around printer manufacturers and the end users. This time we thought of viewing matters from a different perspective, from the retailers end. These days, small or multi format printer’s is what creating trends in the retail sector and the region has quite a number of printer brands specialized in this section. To know more on these trends we met Neelesh Bhatnagar, Chief Executive Officer of Emax.
Emax, a part of the Landmark group was established in the year 2005 and currently runs 37 retail outlets in the Middle East region. The group, which has been in the Middle East for the last 30 years deals with every aspect of retail. Their brand outlets include Centrepoint, Baby Shop, Shoe Mart, Splash and Home Centre.
Explaining the origin of Emax, Neelesh said, “From business point of view, Landmark group had a taste of everything, with the exception of consumer retail electronics. Then in 2005, the first Emax store was opened and today the company has grown to represent around 200 international brands and over 100,000 products across 20 plus categories.”
He added, “Before venturing into this sector, we did our bit of research and travelled around the word to study various successful business models. Today, Emax is a multi-brand retailer and operates in 5 countries including UAE, Saudi, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain. It employs about 1,057 people across the GCC. At present there are 37 outlets and we aim to increase the figure to 50 by end of 2013.” Emax forecasts its turnover to cross 2 billion dirham by the end of 2013.
Getting down into the details of consumer trends in the print market, Neelesh said, “Of late there has been an increase in the use of laptops/computers in households, which has simultaneously pushed the sale of printers. Students, for instance, heavily rely on laptops and printers for the completion of assignments and academic projects, which has in turn made printers an essential item in every house.”
According to Neelesh, MFP’s or multi function printers is what riding the market these days. “Often it is difficult to accommodate a printer, scanner and a copier altogether in a room. MFP’s, on the contrary, personifies all these functions into one device and thus meets the space and utility requirements.”
It’s seen that customers often double check the price variations across the stores and usually settle for the less pricey option. Neelesh opines, “I don’t think that customers are just focused on price but if you get the same product with same quality at a better price from a different retailer/brand then customer’s will naturally pick the better option. At the end of the day, its quality what matters and all other aspects just follow it.”
Stiff competition is another terrain that the company has to deal with. Middle East is known for some high profile retail electronic companies and to pose a competition is not a trivial thing says Neelesh. “We distinguish ourselves from others by specializing in consumables and accessories. We not only have a wide range of hardware products but are also well equipped in various electronic accessories including cartridges, cables, routers etc. Some of these accessories are better priced than the product itself and brings in more cash inflow to the company.”
Neelesh placed the laptop/computer and printer sales on a ratio of 100:20 (which means for every 100 laptop around 20 printers are sold). “It’s quite obvious because in a house you may require more than one laptop but one doesn’t opt for two printers.” Evaluating printer sales, he says that HP printers are more on the move. “Cost per printed page is a factor that determines printer sales. Customers would like to know the running cost or else they would end up spending a lot of money on cartridges.” Commenting about the market trends he said, “These days, printers are a low value item and the money mostly comes from consumable sales. It is profitable to sell cartridges or supplies rather than selling printers.”
Emax is currently under a 100 million dirham expansion plan, which is set to be complete within a year. Neelesh adds, “By end of this year, Landmark group will be launching a mega online shopping site, which will include all our businesses.” Neelesh opines that Dubai has proven to be a good trading hub for them and each day they to get to see a slice of the world in their stores, especially from countries like Russia, North Africa and Iran.
