That may seem an odd strategy in an era of declining
circulation for newspapers, but it illustrates Mitarai’s novel
approach in two respects. One is his emphasis on shifting
the company’s focus to a certain degree from a B2C to a
B2B model. Canon is most widely known for its bleedingedge
digital cameras, camcorders and inkjet printers,
which are part of the company’s Imaging System business
category. But its Office business category, and Industry
and Others business category, which are responsible for
products ranging from office multifunction devices and
toner cartridges to semiconductor lithography machines
and security cameras, are playing an increasingly
important role.
“If you have a lot of consumer-oriented products, you’re
vulnerable to trends and market fluctuation as well as
economic situations, as you see with consumer-oriented
companies,” says Mitarai. “So that’s one reason I’m starting
to shift our focus more to the B2B business. We fostered a
lot of technology based on our B2C business, and we can
now apply that to B2B business.”
As an example, Mitarai points to how Canon applied its
know-how from decades as a leading consumer camera
maker to its groundbreaking Cinema EOS System of digital
cinematography cameras and lenses. “Products such as
the EOS C300 digital cinema camera have already earned
rave reviews from the filmmaking industry,” Mitarai says.