Mustek used to be a leading producer of scanners in Taiwan. But now, the company has taken a dramatic turn in strategy. They are now focusing primarily on portable DVD players, digital cameras and video recorders. The scanner division has shrunk to only ten percent of their total revenues. Certainly, with digital cameras, the venerable scanner is of less importance these days. Also, as we all have seen, the bottom fell out of what was once a very expensive product. But, that is true with a lot of things in the digital market.
Mustek has important existing clients in Europe, but they are banking on increases in orders from the US to fuel their growth for this year as well. In addition, Mustek will introduce portable DVD players with 5-, 6.2-, 7- and 9-inch displays, marketed directly in China for automobiles. Mr. Chen said they are working closely with automobile manufacturers and also aftermarket distributors to promote more sales in this segment.
Considering they already have DVD player, digital camera, digital video camcorder and surface mount technology factories in China, they are poised to provide these products at a super price point. The DVD factory alone is churning out 400,000 portable DVD units a month. China as we all know, has become a force to be reckoned with when it comes to production and distribution of all types of electronics.
Due to China's enormous population and recent explosive economic growth, the market potential within their country alone is staggering. The port city of Shanghai currently is hosting a population of 16 million and it is expected to swell to 20 million in two decades! According to this undated PBS report, there are over 20,000 construction projects in progress. It appears that Mustek is on an aggressive path that could very well fulfill their forcasts for sales.
Source: DigiTimes
