10
BRIEFING TECHNOLOGY
The show must go on – even when
the shows are not able to go ahead
Manufacturers have to decide how to handle their product launch strategies amid the Covid-19 outbreak
For the print industry’s
manufacturers and suppliers,
one of the numerous
business challenges
posed by the coronavirus
pandemic has been working
out how to introduce new
products to their customers in
these uncertain times.
2020 was set to be a Drupa year
– the Düsseldorf show has now
been postponed to April 2021 –
and Fespa’s Global Print Expo,
which had been scheduled to take
place in Madrid in March, has
been pushed back by seven
months to October. Countless
other industry events have also
been postponed or cancelled.
With these vital sales and
lead-making opportunities for
new products removed, at least for
now, businesses have had to put on
their thinking hats to work out
how best to mitigate the impact.
Sitting for up to a year on new
and innovative technology that is
ready to go now is understandably
not desirable or feasible in many
cases, and therefore many manufacturers
have opted to push
ahead with the timing of their
launches as planned.
Heidelberg was one of a number
of companies that switched its
pre-Drupa press briefing from a
physical to a virtual event, once it
became apparent in early March
that the coronavirus situation was
worsening in Europe.
The manufacturer had already
unveiled its next-generation
Speedmaster, which it had
planned as a highlight of its Drupa
showing, and has continued with
this launch regardless, with Elle
Media Group taking delivery of
the world’s first purchased XL 106
in the new specification in March.
That said, just days later
Heidelberg took drastic action to
restore profitability and canned
its Primefire B1 inkjet press, previously
hailed as part of its Drupa
showcase.
Canon, meanwhile, unveiled its
VarioPrint iX-series, an advanced
Printweek April & May 2020
sheetfed inkjet press featuring
iQuariusiX technology, on 1 April
– always the planned launch date
according to the business.
“The plan was to present the
printer during the pre-Drupa
media week in the press conference
at the end of April, and then
show it live at Drupa,” Canon says,
adding that availability in both
EMEA and the Americas is
planned for summer 2020.
HP has also pushed ahead with
the roll-out of new products it had
been due to show at Drupa and
Fespa, unveiling new additions
and enhancements for its Indigo
and Latex R series portfolios.
“Understandably, everyone –
from a personal and professional
perspective – is concerned at the
current situation. However, based
on initial feedback, our customers
remain interested in the new products
we’re bringing to market, as
well as our services and new solutions,”
says HP general manager
and global head of GSB large-format
GTM Merce Barcons. “Our
product launches will continue.
We have customer needs to satisfy
and a broader audience excited
about what was coming this year at
Drupa and Fespa.
“We love hosting the industry at
our events, our facilities and our
partner events, and we value that
attendance and interaction
immensely. For that reason, we’re
working internally and with our
partners to re-plan events once
the time is right.”
Yogev Barak, head of strategy
and business management at HP
Indigo, adds: “As we saw from our
Indigo announcements in March,
in the modern world launching a
new product can be done virtually.
“What we were able to quickly
do in less than 48 hours was
inform our customers, press and
analysts, who were coming in person
to our facility in Israel, that we
were moving the new announcements
to virtual briefings.
“We are doubling up on webinars,
live broadcasts and one-onone
calls, and we keep looking for
new and innovative ways to allow
our customers to virtually experience
our 2020 portfolio.”
Mimaki had been set to launch
a new large-scale 3D printer – the
3DGD-1800 – at Fespa. The firm
stuck with its timings, instead
holding a “virtual press conference”
on 24 March, which would
have been the show’s opening day.
Our product launches will
continue – we have customer
needs to satisfy” Merce Barcons HP
“It’s unfortunate that Fespa has
been postponed until the end of
the year, but we cannot just say
‘ok, let that stop business’,” says
Mimaki EMEA general sales manager
Ronald van den Broek, who
adds the company is now communicating
with customers and dealers
in different ways.
“We are seeing an increase in
the e-learning system that we
offer to our partners, and in the
webinars that we’re organising.
Although people cannot work,
they would like to stay connected
to the industry, and the product
launches we are doing were basically
already announced to the
market, so there was nothing to
stop those. We still have a plan for
more new products to come.”
SwissQprint UK managing
director Erskine Stewart says the
business uses trade shows “as key
platforms to introduce new product
features and technology” and
that new innovations help to provide
its customers with an edge,
especially during critical times
like these. “Therefore, we did not
want to hold back from announcing
our new product features and
technology,” he adds.
“The Covid-19 situation presents
a serious challenge for many
businesses in our industry and
this will impact investment decisions.
However, companies are
still seeking to invest in new technology
where it can provide an
edge over their competition or
improve their long-term operational
performance.
“Therefore, we are adapting
how we engage with customers
and demonstrate our technology.”
Not all manufacturers have
released their products originally
intended for a Drupa or Fespa
launch yet, however.
Ricoh UK national sales director
Simon Isaacs says that the
company is “reviewing the optimum
time for product launches in
the light of the constantly evolving
situation”.
“Drupa 2021 will be a very
important opportunity to share
some exciting developments with
our clients in the commercial and
industrial printing communities
around Europe and beyond,” he
adds. “There will be a strong focus
on how we can support our clients
to reinvigorate their operations.”
This sentiment is echoed by
many others. While this year’s
Drupa and Fespa shows would
have undoubtedly centred around
new products, technology, ideas
and applications, these events are
now likely to have a much bigger
part to play in helping the industry
back to its feet.
MIMAKI
Stuck to its schedule and held a
virtual press conference instead
Words Richard Stuart-Turner