New Delhi, July 19 (IANS): In a bid to realise imaging industry potential in India, digital imaging company Canon India is planning to expand its retail centres across the country.

Speaking to IANS on the sidelines of the launch of its 'EOS 6D Mark II' DSLR camera in the capital this week, Kazutada Kobayashi, President and CEO, Canon India, said: "We have already reached 232 'Canon Image Square' [retail stores] in India. Our target is to reach 260 by the end of the year".

"The expansion would not only take place in metros but also in tier II and III cities. Naturally, the size of the stores tend to get smaller in smaller towns compared to metros but the function will be the same," Kobayashi added.

To further develop expertise in the printing area, the company has launched its commercial inkjet photography printer 'Dreamlabo' in India.

"The 'Dreamlabo' which gives high-definition photo album is specially aimed for family events. In the future, we want to see picture frames hanging on the walls of every home and office desks," Kobayashi noted.

Accpeting the importance of after-sale services in the Indian market, the company is focused to give best services to its consumers.

"We just opened up new 'master service centre' in Ahmedabad. We are also improving the logistics network to transfer the devices for repair from various towns and cities to the 'master service centres,'" Kobayashi told IANS.

When it comes to GST, Kobayashi expects the minor operational hiccups to be settled within few months.

"In the B2C area, the largest demand is created by cameras and people were aware of 28 per cent GST on digital cameras and camcorders. So there is no big surprise and we were prepared for this," said Kobayashi.

Canon has an R&D centre in Bengaluru where 50 engineers are working to build software for its products. 

"Although we don't have a concrete plan for a hardware manufacturing unit at present, we may open one in future based on our search for factory locations," Kobayashi added.

Launched on July 17, the new 'EOS 6D Mark II' camera features 26.2MP full-frame CMOS sensor, the camera delivers clear images even under low-light conditions and its 'Dual Pixel CMOS AF' technology provides high-performance focus tracking in 'Live View' mode.

The 'EOS 6D Mark II' is priced at Rs 132,995 (for the body), Rs 184,995 with 'EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM' lens and Rs 202,995 with 'EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM' lens.