Brother Refresh EZ Print Subscription Service: Difference between revisions
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======Brother Industries, Ltd.====== | ======Brother Industries, Ltd.====== | ||
Brother was established in Japan in 1908 <ref>[https://wiki.rossmanngroup.com/images/a/a9/Brother_Sales_Revenue_1928-2020.png Brother Sales Revenue (1928-2020).png]</ref> primarily as an industrial manufacturer of machine parts. It was not until 1928 that Brother launched its first mainline product: head-wear specific industrial sewing machine. Owing to their history in manufacturing, Brother's machines were good quality and highly regarded. They sold well and prior to the second-world war, Japanese companies like Brother had access to a highly-skilled and low-cost labor force. This allowed Brother to expand its product line and to firmly capture a share of the industrial sewing category; a market in which they still operate today. | Brother was established in Japan in 1908 <ref>[https://wiki.rossmanngroup.com/images/a/a9/Brother_Sales_Revenue_1928-2020.png Brother Sales Revenue (1928-2020).png]</ref> primarily as an industrial manufacturer of machine tool and parts. It was not until 1928 that Brother launched its first mainline product: head-wear specific industrial sewing machine. Owing to their history in manufacturing, Brother's machines were good quality and highly regarded. They sold well and prior to the second-world war, Japanese companies like Brother had access to a highly-skilled and low-cost labor force. This allowed Brother to expand its product line and to firmly capture a share of the industrial sewing category; a market in which they still operate today. | ||
The post war years saw significant Japanese government focus on industrialization.<ref>Mosk, Carl (August 12, 2023) [https://eh.net/encyclopedia/japanese-industrialization-and-economic-growth/ "Japanese Industrialization and Economic Growth"] Economic History Association. Retrieved February 8, 2025</ref> And by the early 1960's and 1970's, Japan's electronics manufacturing sector was not only mature but had rapidly expanded. Facts such as a large national labor pool, new access to western technology and the skill-to-cost benefits from earlier government investment, quickly made Japanese manufacturers the leaders in high-quality, low-cost electronic products. Brother too, benefited from this economic environment. It invested heavily in the technology sector and by 1971, released a product that would change the company direction and growth into the foreseeable future: a high-speed, '''dot-matrix printer'''. | The post war years saw significant Japanese government focus on industrialization.<ref>Mosk, Carl (August 12, 2023) [https://eh.net/encyclopedia/japanese-industrialization-and-economic-growth/ "Japanese Industrialization and Economic Growth"] Economic History Association. Retrieved February 8, 2025</ref> And by the early 1960's and 1970's, Japan's electronics manufacturing sector was not only mature but had rapidly expanded. Facts such as a large national labor pool, new access to western technology and the skill-to-cost benefits from earlier government investment, quickly made Japanese manufacturers the leaders in high-quality, low-cost electronic products. Brother too, benefited from this economic environment. It invested heavily in the technology sector and by 1971, released a product that would change the company direction and growth into the foreseeable future: a high-speed, '''dot-matrix printer'''. | ||
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======Segment Reliance====== | ======Segment Reliance====== | ||
Into the '''1990's''', Brother identified its Printing & Solutions ('''P&S''') segment as a global category for growth and shifted significant resources | Into the '''1990's''', Brother identified its Printing & Solutions ('''P&S''') segment as a global category for growth and shifted significant resources directly towards this market. And while Brother maintained its leadership in core categories such as industrial sewing, machine tools and parts, the company continued to make further gains through P&S and in electronic products such as labeling. The returns in these segments continued to provide Brother opportunities for expansion. They developed product lines that took advantage of this demand, not only through industrial buyers to whom Brother traditionally catered, but with small office and home office users ('''SOHO''') who began to purchase Brother's products for their high reliability and reasonable cost. By the mid-1990's Brother had a mature and robust printing portfolio and had released many successful and profitable lines: | ||
*laser printers (both color & mono) | *laser printers (both color & mono) | ||
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*garment, label and mobile printers. | *garment, label and mobile printers. | ||
Throughout the late 1990's and early '''2000's''' the company continued to focus within the P&S segment and invested in long-term channel relationships. Now an establish brand, Brother's sales and profitability was firmly tied to the '' | Throughout the late 1990's and early '''2000's''' the company continued to focus within the P&S segment and invested in long-term channel relationships. Now an establish brand, Brother's sales and profitability was firmly tied to the '''parts and consumables''' market. Brother understood that its clients such as OEM, vendors, distributors and large retailers were key to maintaining a strong brand affiliation and to further create an ongoing demand. To acquire new industrial and SOHO buyers, Brother engaged in heavy promotional schedules and further product offerings. It introduced high-end, all-in-one laser printers and high-speed inkjet printers, all at price points not before seen in the market. Brother also sought growth in emerging countries. The company invested aggressively in Asia by promoting and selling low-cost '''monochrome laser printers''', which by now had became their strength and specialty. | ||
[[File:Brother FY2012 New Product Lines.png|frameless|699x699px]] | [[File:Brother FY2012 New Product Lines.png|frameless|699x699px]] | ||
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#Target sales channels and support promotions to '''expand sales of mono laser printers''' in emerging markets. | #Target sales channels and support promotions to '''expand sales of mono laser printers''' in emerging markets. | ||
But by '''2015''' investors and shareholders had started to ask some tough questions. Despite meeting net sales forecast targets in Printing & Solutions | But by '''2015''' investors and shareholders had started to ask some tough questions. Despite meeting net sales forecast targets in Printing & Solutions, company wide income and profit were in significant decline, The previously stable Machinery & Solution division was in free-fall and the anchor for sales and growth, Printing & Solutions ('''P&S'''), suffered a 4.3% profit contraction. | ||
In Brother's EOY financial briefing the company acknowledged the stagnation of the P&S segment and offered the following insights: | |||
# Laser printer ('''LBP''') market profitability was deteriorating due to competitor entry and generic consumables availability. | |||
# The printer hardware segment was now very mature and the targeted growth by new product releases was not returning profit. | |||
# Digitization of documents and images drove mobile device uptake and continued to shrink the printing market by 5% YOY. | |||
# Multi-function Center ('''MFC''') and All-in-One ('''AIO''') machines were eroding sales growth of use-specific product lines. | |||
# Consumable demand for conventional inkjet cartridge machines were being replaces by high-capacity Ink Tank models. | |||
With these points Brother had informed investors that the traditional strategy of developing hardware products, releasing through sales channels and realizing profitability through affiliation and consumables had become highly uncertain. Furthermore, Brother acknowledged that model proliferation caused by these strategies had driven up stock holding requirements, cannibalized profitable lines and directly encouraged the demand for generic consumables. | |||
Here Brother did two significant things. Firstly, it downgraded its forecasts to mitigate pressure for short-term market performance stating that the business would not return to overall profitability until 2018. Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, it supported the target for profitability by releasing a mid-term business strategy: '''CS B2018'''. It this document, Brother outlined many changes significant changes: from the structure of business segments to investment relocation, but all with a function for underpinning the future company direction: | |||
'''<nowiki/>'To change and reposition the existing printing business to one that is clearly defined for corporate profitability enhancement'.''' | |||
== The Birth of Subscription == | |||
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==Data Privacy== | ==Data Privacy== | ||