A CHAT WITH ATSUSHI FUJIOKA, DIRECTOR MARKETING AND PRODUCT MANAGEMENT, GC ASIA

Atsushi Fujioka, Director Marketing and Product Management, GC Asia with Sanjay Mahapatra, Director GC India and Dr. Chandramouli, Manager Scientific & Academic Affairs, GC India

During Expodent, New Delhi, we caught up with Mr. Fujioka at the GC Island for a brief chat.

1. Please tell us a bit about yourself and your progression towards your current position at GC?
I have been with GC for over 20 years now. I joined in 1998 starting from sales and then moving to marketing. From there I moved to GC International as a Senior Manager. In 2020 I moved to Singapore with the responsibility to market new products to the Asian market including India. I have been working in this current capacity since then.

2. What do you feel about the growth potential in Asia and specifically India?
For GC, India is a very important market and will continue to be so. Within Asia the Indian market is growing at a rapid pace and we as a company are quite successful here. But I still feel there is potential for us to do even better and we intend to do that.

3. Any specific plans and strategies for India?
There are certain product categories where we have a significant market share in Japan and Europe but not so in India. We intend to penetrate the Indian market in those categories, the lab product segment for instance so that we are aligned with global sales. Also within GC India we have impressive line of products including impression material, alginates and porcelain
ceramics. We intend to grow further in these categories.

4. Please tell us about the challenges faced by GC Post Covid?
It was the same as with other dental companies like material shortage and global supply chain disruption. Trying to shorten the shipment delivery time to India was a challenge. Customer interaction became a problem as no personal contact with customers due to no events and exhibitions. We also see that customer preferences have changed a bit and though exhibitions are an excellent way to meet customers but we need presence on social media too to access more customers in India. Initially after covid the situation was chaotic but now things are back on track and as far as GC India goes we have a strong team to support us.