OMRON Healthcare, world’s leading manufacturer of clinically proven medical equipment, is looking at converting the remaining 18 percent of Filipinos still using aneroid blood pressure monitors to switch to its digital medical gadgets in the next five years.
Yusuke Kato, general manager for OMRON Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd – Philippine Branch (Healthcare Division), in an email interview with Manila Bulletin Business expressed confidence of further expanding their business in the country.
“In the next 5 years, we want OMRON in the Philippines to have an increased penetration of the weight scale and body composition monitors market. We also aim to further expand our product offerings for digital blood pressure monitors and we hope that by 2027, the remaining 18 percent of Filipinos still using aneroid monitors will have been encouraged to switch to OMRON’s digital blood pressure monitors,” Kato said.
Kato even cited the Philippines, being one of its pioneer markets, a role model organization in its continuing global expansion.
“In the next 10 years, we plan to expand the business to more countries. Since the Philippines is one of the first countries we entered for this global expansion strategy, I am confident that it would be followed as a role model for OMRON to get into other countries,” said Kato.
“The Philippines is one of our key locations in APAC and we see it as one of the biggest and most supportive markets for our products within the region,” said Kato.
OMRON started its operations in the Philippines in 1996 and has seen robust growth for the brand over the past 25 years.
Kato cited the Philippines as a thriving market with its huge population of over 109 million. In addition, Filipinos are becoming conscious of health and wellness. “These factors have helped propel patronage for our products,” he said.
“But more than the financial contributions of the Philippine branch to the OMRON global operations, what we truly value is the trust that Filipino families across generations, and across the nation, have given us,” he added.
OMRON’s products are categorized under four key areas - blood pressure monitors, weight scales and body composition monitors, nebulizers and TENS therapy devices.
Kato said they are focused on expanding the models available in the Philippines under each of these categories. “Filipinos can look forward to some exciting announcements and additions to OMRON Healthcare devices available in the country soon,” he said.
Even as OMRON has been experiencing robust growth in the country, Kato noted that accessibility is important in its business strategy as they strive to bring their medical devices to more than 7,000 islands.
To address this challenge, OMRON has partnered with the country’s biggest pharmaceutical chains and drug stores that have many branches across the nation. It has also made its products available through the widely-used online platforms to reach the far-flung communities.
“We have been continuously trying to manage it by making consumers aware of the advantages of going for a high-quality product and not to comprise on price front by presenting a balanced offering scoring high on both quality and price,” he added.
As the country reopened the domestic economy after two years of pandemic, Kato stressed the importance of health and well-being to sustain the transition to the new normal.
With that he vowed to make more progress in the digital blood pressure monitor domain. Omron also continued to raise awareness around the utilization of nebulization at home via using our nebulizers for varied respiratory conditions, and pain management at home through our TENS therapy devices. Kato said they offer the most intuitive and easy to use healthcare devices/
“As the head of OMRON’s operations in the Philippines, I am guided by the vision of a Filipino society that leads a healthy, illness-free and comfortable lifestyle. And our objective is for OMRON Healthcare to be the Filipino’s partner to achieve this,” he added.
Even prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kato said that OMRON has been a staunch proponent for healthcare monitoring. When the pandemic hit and led to lockdowns and limited access to healthcare facilities, OMRON provided accessible devices to help Filipinos, especially those suffering from chronic ailments, keep track of their health from the comforts of home.
In 2021, Omron implemented the Bayanihan Campaign in a bid to make healthcare monitoring and management within reach of more Filipinos during such a trying time.
According to Kato, Omron rolled back prices to make their medical devices more affordable. “With the price changes, we were able to spread our products to more channels, including independent drugstores that cater to the DE market,” Kato said.