Mumbai: Canon India Pvt. Limited launched its first brand retail store ‘Canon Image Square’ in Mumbai and second in the Western region. The retail store is based on the franchise model. It is intended to be a one stop destination for people with imaging needs, enabling enhanced visibility, experiential purchase at point of sale, increased reach across Western India and drive sales.

Canon plans to open 100 stores across major metros and non metros cities in 2011 and increase the number of stores to 300 across 150 Tier II and III cities by 2013. With this plan, Canon India would deepen foothold in 150 cities in the coming three years. The company expects estimated revenues of Rs 30 lakh, per store, every month from Canon retail stores. This is in line with the growth of retail destinations like malls at the rate of 540 malls annually. The stores enforces Canon’s increased focus on penetration across the country including major metros and tier II & tier III markets to enhance the brand awareness and increase sales. The area covered by each outlet would vary from a minimum of 800 sq. ft to a maximum of 1300 sq. ft.

Speaking on the occasion Mr. Kensaku Konishi, President & CEO, Canon India said, “The customer of today is well informed and educated, and we are constantly evolving at providing them with the correct choices by understanding their needs. The Indian customer is demanding better products, higher lifestyle quotient, good quality selling interface and state-of-art after sales service of international standards. Hence, it is a moment of pride for us at Canon to launch first store in Mumbai designed on international appeal called ‘Canon Image Square’. The store will offer solutions for customers seeking high end photography and printing solutions where both click and print products from Canon will be available. This is a unique concept that would help Brand Canon enjoy greater visibility and get closer to our customers, at large.”

Understanding the evolving consumer needs, Canon has also created a brand retail division for “Image Square” line of retail stores to tap the growth of retail market. Currently the size of the market is estimated at Rs 3000 crore annually. The number of Canon Image Squares opened till date are 7 with an average foot fall per store per month of 6000 to 10,000. The increase in footfall in these stores on weekends over weekdays is over 100%. Experiential buying at retail outlets is a new trend in the digital imaging market that is currently growing at 50% in India.

The outlet showcases a wide range of consumer products that includes cameras, camcorders, photo printers, D-SLR’s and lenses, inkjet printers, entry level laser printers, consumables and accessories. Each store has over 80 SKU’s on display. The wide display of products allows the customer to enjoy a rich technological experience with an environment to make a purchase. A customer can touch, feel and understand all about a product and then make an informed purchase.