Ricoh’s head of sales has confirmed 100 orders worth $A225 million at drupa including the first confirmed sales of its Pro Z75 B2 sheetfed aqueous inkjet press and Pro VC80000 high speed web fed press.
Ricoh has confirmed the sales represent orders of $US150 million ($A225 million) over five years across all inkjet, toner, software, and industrial printheads technologies.
The two major product releases on the Ricoh stand included the Ricoh Pro VC80000 high speed web fed press – also known as the Harpy Eagle and the Ricoh Pro Z75 B2 sheetfed aqueous inkjet press – also known as the Dragon. Also complementing these machines were its toner-based machines – the Jaguars – Pro C9500, Pro 7500 and Pro C5300.
Ricoh has confirmed sales at drupa of the Ricoh Pro VC80000 to Cimpress and the Pro Z75 to Saudi Arabian dealer Samir Group.
Visiting Australia this week to meet with printers following drupa, Gavin Jordan-Smith, senior vice president and general manager, global sales strategy division and North America sales for Ricoh Graphic Communications discussed the importance of the ‘Henkaku’ theme at drupa which is the Japanese word for ‘transformational innovation’.
Jordan-Smith said the ‘Henkakuverse experience’ at drupa was designed to “create a sense of community that connects our team members with those of customers walking through the booth”.
The Henkakuverse concept was created to deliver a virtual production environment where customers could engage with Ricoh’s technology for the benefit of their individual print needs and requirements. Asia-Pacific was the second largest group to tour the Ricoh stand behind Europe.
In an exclusive interview with Sprinter, Jordan-Smith – who is the global head of sales for Ricoh Graphic Communications – shared key insights into the revenue and return on investment driven by drupa.
“Two years ago when we set up our [drupa] target, I said if we are going to spend millions of dollars to be at an event, I want ROI driven out of every region. ROI is not top line revenue it is a relationship with that customer we close and transact at the show. People are not going to the show to kick the tyres – these sales cycles were already happening a year ago. When we get to the show they are looking at other equipment and we get them to make the decision by saying ‘you have seen everyone else – so do you want to buy from us?’.
“We had a couple of people that bought $2 million machines that we did not have in the pipeline, but the bottom line is we set very high targets. So if we spend $4 million – I want a net profit target over 24 months because an event [like drupa] is an event in time and other touchpoints. We exceeded [those targets] just in top line revenue – so that top line revenue will be more than enough to cover what we already spent on the event. The contract value for that is around $150 million over the next five years – so it pays for us to be at an event like this. These are orders – I didn’t want to sell future – I wanted to show things that customers could buy straight away,” Jordan-Smith said.
According to Ricoh Graphic Communications president, Koji Miyao, “it was a great drupa”.
“We enjoyed a huge amount of success, and it was very exciting and rewarding to see so many orders signed for our groundbreaking inkjet, toner-based, software and industrial printhead technologies. We look forward to supporting those new and existing clients in making a great return on their Ricoh investments. It was also a wonderful honour and privilege to connect with so many valued clients and partners throughout the show with whom we shared our powerful sustainability and co-innovation stories,” Miyao said.
Comment below to have your say on this story.
If you have a news story or tip-off, get in touch at editorial@sprinter.com.au.
Sign up to the Sprinter newsletter