[Company analysis] Seiko Epson Corporation (セイコーエプソン)

「Seiko Epson Corporation (セイコーエプソン)」is one of the world's largest manufacturers of printer and imaging equipment. This company is headquartered in Nagano Prefecture, and is well known for watches to the general consumers. The abbreviation is "EPSON". The number of consolidated employees is approximately 76,647.

 

1. Company Profile

2. Summary and Features

3. Major Business

4. Financial Information

 

 

 

1. Company Profile

 

※Unit is JPY million, as of 2019

Company name	Seiko Epson Corporation
Company name (Japanese)	セイコーエプソン
Date of establishment	Monday, May 18, 1942
Headquarters location	〒392-8502 長野県諏訪市大和三丁目3番5号
Capital	53,204
Consolidated sales	1,089,676
Consolidated operating profit	70,498
Consolidated total assets	1,038,389
Consolidated capital	542,747
Capital adequacy ratio	52.3%
Consolidated number of employees	76,647

 

 

 

2. Summary and Features

 
The predecessor of「Seiko Epson(セイコーエプソン)」was「Daiwa Kogyo Ltd.(大和工業)」, which was established by Yamazaki Hisao(山崎久夫) in May 1942. Hisao Yamazaki is a former employee of「Hattori Tokeiten(服部時計店)」and started his business with the investment of「Daini Seiko(第二精工)」owned by the Hattori family at that time. So at the time of their establishment, this company worked as a partner company of「Daini Seiko(第二精工)」to manufacture and assemble watch parts.

Later, in 1959,「Daiwa Kogyo」purchased the Suwa Factory of「Daini Seiko(第二精工)」, and changed the company name to「Suwa Seikosha Co., Ltd.(諏訪精工)」and started to expand their business around Suwa City. Along with this, many precision parts manufacturers for clocks and cameras gathered in Suwa city. So the areas surrounding the Suwa city came to be called "Oriental Switzerland".

At the time of the Tokyo Olympics, the "timekeeper" of「Suwa Seiko」was adopted as the official timepiece. At that time, a machine that can print the recorded time immediately was needed. To achieve this,「Shinshu Seiki Co., Ltd.,(諏訪精工)」, a subsidiary of「Suwa Seiko」, developed a small printer called "EP-101" in 1968. It's subsequent model was "Son of EP-101" which is named aftering the first model. And the brand name "EPSON" was derived from this.

Since 1975, they have fully launched the EPSON printer brand, and in 1982 they changed the name of the「Shinshu Seiki」to「Epson Corporation」. Then, it was merged with its mother company,「Suwa Seiko」, and the current 「Seiko Epson Corporation」were formed at last.


However, in the 2000s, the business situation surrounding「Seiko Epson」became worse. The printer business, which was a pillar of profits, was involved in intense price competition, resulting in a sharp decline in sales in emerging countries. At that time, about 60% of the production process of the printer business was relied on outsourcing to reduce costs. but from 2008, this company decided to take up "Ebson-style vertical process" and started to carry out all processes from development to manufacturing / sales in-house.

Currently,「Seiko Epson」handles a variety of printers, including inkjet printers, information-related equipment such as projectors and personal computers, and also manufactures electronic device parts such as semiconductors. In particular, they have gained the top share in the world in the field of projectors that project high-luminance and high-quality images by utilizing liquid panels. In 2016, they launched the world's first dry-type office paper machine, "PaperLab," that enables paper recycling in the office. 

In the watch manufacturing business, there is an corporating system between「Seiko Instruments, Inc」and「Seiko Epson」. They are in charge of manufacturing, development and designing. As for the marketing and sales, it is the territory for「Seiko Holdings(セイコーホールディングス)」. In recent years, they are trying to expand their business not only for the existing businesses of inkjet printers and projectors, but also to wearable devices and smart glasses.

 

 

 

3. Major Business

 

■ Printing Solution
They develop, manufacture and sell inkjet printers, scanners and dry office paper machines.

■ Visual communication
They are developing and manufacturing projectors, smart glasses, etc. 

 

 

 

4. Financial information

 

※Unit is JPY million

		2016	2017	2018
Consolidated sales		1,024,856	1,102,116	1,089,676
Consolidated operating profit		67,892	65,003	70,498
Consolidated total assets		974,387	1,033,350	1,038,389
Consolidated net assets		494,722	515,106	542,747
Breakdown of sales	Printing solution business	686,353	736,239	722,958
	Visual communication business	179,642	198,889	203,305
	Wearable product business	150,674	158,535	154,074
	Others	787	187	187
	Adjustments	7,398	8,265	9,151