Hewlett-Packard Co, the world's second-biggest personal computer maker, will increase investment in China and start selling digital cameras and home entertainment systems in the country, said chief executive Carly Fiorina.
"Hewlett-Packard's promise to invest in China has remained a priority and our level of investment is on the rise," Fiorina said at a presentation in Shanghai.
Fiorina is focusing Hewlett-Packard on digital cameras, photo printers and entertainment systems as consumer electronics demand growth outstrips that for computers. Last year consumer market sales made up a "huge part" of the company's business, accounting for US$18 billion of the Palo Alto, California-based company's US$75 billion total revenue, Fiorina said.
PHOTO: REUTERS
"China is the largest and fastest growing consumer market in the world today with more than 1.3 billion consumers," said Fiorina. "The use of computers is spreading more rapidly here than any other nation." Hewlett-Packard returned to China eight months ago after withdrawing in 2001. The company plans to introduce its full range of consumer products, Fiorina said. This includes the HP-branded iPod music player based on Apple's best selling music player, as well as projectors, entertainment hubs and displays.
"The China market is extremely important to HP. We cannot achieve our objective to be the leading technology company without success here in China," Fiorina said.
The company is the fifth-largest seller of personal computers in China and the market leader among overseas-branded PCs, Fiorina said.
In the seven top cities in China, the company has a 12 percent market share for personal computers in eight months of operations since returning to the market, said Ken Koo, vice president of Hewlett-Packard's imaging and printing group.
The company plans to open more than 1,000 stores in over 100 cities in China and spend "several million dollars" on brand-building in China, Koo said.
Some of the digital cameras to be sold in China will be produced at the two plants in Shanghai, Koo said. He declined to give numbers. Hewlett-Packard sold 1 million digital cameras last year.
Worldwide shipments of digital cameras will almost double to 81 million by 2007, while shipments of music players will increase five-fold to 4.8 million units, according to IDC. Personal computer shipments will rise 42 percent to 217 million by 2007 from last year, the technology market research company forecasts.
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