RAMON G. Arteficio’s basic traits as CEO are obvious the moment you meet this 59-year-old patriarch of one of the most successful companies in the country. He is humble, unassuming, amiable and honest. His tenure as president and chief executive officer of Canon Marketing (Philippines) Inc. remains literally unprecedented as he is its first CEO since Canon Japan Inc. bought the then Data Graphics—a Philippine information-technology solutions company—in 1997 and spun it off into Canon Marketing Philippines.

In an interview with the BusinessMirror in the financial district of Makati, Arteficio, who has led the company for the last 10 years to profitability, shared his views on the company’s recent performance and his vision and insights for the company this year.

How do you assess the company’s financial performance?

Globally, Canon grew. In the Philippines we grew 8 percent in sales and bagged 19 percent in profit. Our copier business, which is still quite small, grew only 1 percent. Our ICP—or image-communication products like video and digicams—revenue grew 11 percent, while for printers, specifically the all-in-ones, grew almost 300 percent, although it is still quite small. We’ve made significant strides in the last four years here in the Philippines, so we’re very glad about our performance.

In the Philippines we have consistently been increasing in sales and profitability.  We cannot provide you with our exact financial status pertaining to these products since this is confidential, but I think our performance versus our competitors’ can give you a good idea how well we are doing.

In the home and office business, 2007 has been a great year for Canon PIXMA printers, especially for the multifunction printers, or MFP. MFP sales grew by about 300 percent versus 2006 and achieved the highest market share ever for MFP printers at a 16-percent market share in fourth-quarter 2007. We also introduced a full lineup of single-function and multifunction printers in 2007, which cater to every market need.  Our laser all-in-one sales also grew by 14 percent.

In the camera business, we are stronger than ever in digital cameras due to superior products and technologies, aggressive promotions offering high value for consumers, and excellent customer service…. Canon is over 30 percent in market share for compact cameras, with the nearest competitor lagging nine points behind.

For digital SLRs, we are currently No. 1 in the market.  

How do you see 2008 and what are your specific goals?

We’re eyeing 15-percent growth for this year, so we’ll be aggressive in growing our market share. We’re No. 3 in printers right now. Basically, we want to maintain our leadership in product lines where we are at the top and eventually become No. 1 in all the lines. It’s easier to reach for the top but it’s actually much harder being at the top. 

How do you intend to achieve these goals?

We intend to achieve these goals by again spending on advertising and publicity. We believe in that aspect of marketing, that’s why our marketing expenses reached P200 million per year on the average from a couple of years ago. Now, we’re slowly reaping the benefits.

We’re also looking at further training [our] personnel. Last year each of our 292 employees underwent at least five sets of training.... In total, we spent around P4.9 million just for training alone.

Customer service is also an area where we are expanding as well. We spend at least P3 million in putting up a service center just to improve on our service capabilities.

It was also a plus point for us that Canon Marketing Philippines is now ISO:9002-certified. That gives us a lot of leverage and credibility in the eyes of our customers. 

Are there specific areas of concern?

As I mentioned, we’ll strengthen our presence in areas where we are not at the top, like in printers. We’d like to become No. 1 in this product line. 

Are you making further investments in terms of R&D?

Canon is primarily a technology firm. About 8 percent to 10 percent of our global revenues go to research and development. It shows how serious we are in developing new technologies each year. In New York we register 1,800 to 2,000 patents. 

Will you be introducing new products for this year?

We will definitely continue to deliver new products this year, which would complement our expansion drive in terms of service capability as we put up a service center in Davao, plus we will relocate around five service centers in more highly visible areas to bring us closer to our customers. 

Do you intend to continue leading Canon into the next five years? Or are you now grooming young blood to take over the reins of the company?

I’m moving out next year. It is company policy that executives at Canon are to be replaced once they reach the mandatory age limit of 60. The one who will replace me may come from a different country, as is the company policy. But nothing is definite yet. I still have one year to go. 

Are there any plans to augment the current manpower complement of Canon? Any plans to move to another office in the future?

Yes, we are moving to a different and most probably bigger office by next year, since we’ve been in our current office long enough and we really need a new environment. We’re also studying the possibility of adopting a “telecommuting” policy for all our people but first, we’ll improve on our telecommunications infrastructure in order to do this. I’m happy to note that every Canon Marketing Philippines office is now connected, so we believe telecommuting is the way to go.              

In terms of personnel, we’re looking at a 3-percent to 5-percent increase in manpower, particularly in the provinces. We really want to expand our presence in the provinces….

We’re proud to have the best people around to help us with our goals. Having good people and a good brand, I think, is the best combination that contributed to our success. That’s why when hiring people, integrity is the most important for us so we do background checks as much as possible. It’s not really about having great skills. These are nothing if there’s no integrity in the person. That’s why we continue to train people, to make them better. After all, the company is really like a big family because we take care of our own.

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