Giving Chinese the Epson tech edge

Shigeki Inoue, senior MD and COO of Seiko Epson's wearables division, speaks at the launch of three new series of smartwatches in the Chinese market in December. [Photo by Zhang Wei/China Daily]

Led by Shigeki Inoue, the wearables division of the company is energizing China market

More and more Chinese are exercising to stay healthy, which is createing huge potential for the growth of wearable devices. Japanese company Seiko Epson Corporation, commonly known as Epson, is looking to tap into this burgeoning market and take full advantage of this golden opportunity.

About 16 years ago, Shigeki Inoue, now senior managing director of Epson and chief operating officer of the wearable products operations division, led a team to develop a smartwatch in Japan, which included an agenda function, but it was not successful at that time as the internet was only just taking off.

The smartwatch was targeted at business people, who could manage their schedule by rotating the dial plate to input information, according to Inoue.

He said: "I didn't forecast the explosive growth of intelligent wearable devices then, but I believe there is a demand for a smartwatch equipped with many different kinds of functions. I believe that user demand definitely exists."

Inoue's predictions have been proved correct many times.

The keep-fit fever is sweeping the country. Marathons have become a fashion for many in China and marathon-related consumption is expected to boost the development of intelligent wearable devices.

Inoue said: "Epson has a 70-year history of making watches and began to manufacture wearable devices about 30 years ago. The company has mastered these technologies. We are making great efforts in the wearable sector."

"The worldwide wearable market develops very rapidly, maintaining a growth rate of 20 percent each year, and the Chinese market may grow faster." Chinese consumers love smartwatches, and they are always looking out for new high-quality products.

Epson launched three new series of watches in the Chinese market in December, including professional sport watch RUNSENSE, fashion watch Smart Canvas and mechanical watch Orient, marking the Japanese company's foray into China's wearable tech market.

The lightweight, water-resistant smartwatch RUNSENSE SF-850 features highly accurate GPS tracking to help users measure distance and pace. It can monitor a runner's calorie consumption, the number of steps walked and sleep status with the accuracy rate of up to 99 percent.

According to the International Data Corporation, wearable device shipments in China reached 38.76 million units in 2016, up by 57.1 percent year-on-year. As the largest wearable device market in the world, China accounts for 43.8 percent of the total shipments worldwide.

IDC also estimates the shipments of wearable device in China will reach 50 million in 2017, with a market value of more than 26 billion yuan ($3.76 billion).

Epson is dedicated to connecting people, things and information with its precision technologies. Its lineup ranges from inkjet printers and digital printing systems to 3LCD projectors, smart glasses, sensing systems and industrial robots.

Since joining Epson in 1979, Inoue has worked in various areas of production engineering for watches, including component manufacturing, mass production design and production line design.

In 1994, he was involved in a project aimed at identifying future products, and the output of this project helped pave the way for commercialization of new products, such as wearables.

He moved to the corporate planning department in 2002 and has held senior leadership roles within the corporate strategy division since 2008, in which capacity he has been responsible for creating and implementing Epson's medium- to long-term business plans and corporate vision.

"In improving employees' enthusiasm for work, the most important thing is to have a common goal. What can I could contribute to society? What kind of new value can I provide? And how do we do something meaningful for society in the next ten years? These are all fundamental questions," he said.

Epson announced its Epson 25 Corporate Vision (2016-25) to Chinese clients in April, which sets out the direction it will take in the next decade.

The company plans to step up the pace of its technological innovation, not only in traditional fields such as printers and projection equipment, but also by expanding its robotics and wearable devices output.

For Inoue, it is not easy to strike a work/life balance. In his spare time, Inoue likes listening to music－Japanese and Western－and spanning genres from classical to rock, and has collected records and CDs for more than 50 years. He also used to enjoy many of Japan's natural hot springs.

Inoue also uses the company's products. "I have an Epson printer, projector, smart glasses and watches."

Jean Xiao, research manager at IDC China said "Unlike basic wearable products in overseas markets where fitness tracking is their main function, basic wearable devices in China offer more functionality. This has enabled the fast expansion of China's basic wearable device market."