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Digital cameras, film cameras, interchangeable lenses, speedlights, film scanners, accessories, software
Despite there being no anticipation of any significant decline in consumption in the digital camera market, we expect consumer behavior and exchange rates will remain unclear in future and that intensification of competition with our competitors and downward product price trend will continue.
| * | Shipment units=domestic shipment units+export units (member manufacturers only) Shipment amounts=domestic shipment amounts+export amounts (member manufacturers only) |
| * | Shipment units=domestic shipment units+export units (member manufacturers only) Shipment amounts=domestic shipment amounts+export amounts (member manufacturers only) |
Shipment units of Nikon imaging products (Sales & Forecast)
| Q1: | What were Nikon’s activities in the Imaging Products Business during the first half of the year ending March 2010? |
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| A1: | In digital SLR cameras and interchangeable lenses, sales were down due to deterioration of product prices brought about by the effects of a strong yen and changes to the sales composition ratio by price range. The Company was, however, able to maintain its sales volume at the same level as for the first half of the year ended March 2009, led by sales of our new D5000, D3000, and D300S models, together with our existing medium/high-end models as D90 and D700, as well as digital SLR camera kits and FX format lenses performed well. We further enhanced the product lineup with the launch of our flagship model D3S from the end of November, which offers advanced basic performance and operability with 12.1 effective megapixels and standard ISO setting of ISO 200 to 12800.
The strong yen also affected compact digital cameras and sales fell. However, sales of high-power zoom models such as the COOLPIX P90 and COOLPIX L100, and COOLPIXS220 equipped with both functionality and stylish design performed strongly and saw an increase in sales amid a shrinking market. In addition, the Company continued to launch a series of products that provide new ways of enjoying images such as the launch in October of the COOLPIX S1000pj, the world’s first camera equipped with an ultra-small built-in projector. As the Company celebrated the 75th anniversary of NIKKOR lenses in 2008, total production of NIKKOR interchangeable lenses reached the 50 million mark in September 2009. Lenses sold in kit with digital SLR cameras and sales of high-value-added, high-priced lenses following enhancement to the lineup of digital SLR cameras for professionals and advanced amateurs performed strongly. |
| Q2: | What is the growth strategy for digital cameras? |
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| A2: | Nikon's quick response to user needs was one of the reasons.
Specifically, we were quick to detect shifts in the market and changing lifestyles, and were able to plan and develop products to meet the needs of customers, then produce and market them in an extremely short period of time. Nikon is working consistently to shorten the period from planning to product launch, and this speed that allows us to offer in a timely manner the products customers seek is what led to the jump in sales for compact digital cameras.
Nikon has also consistently been one of the leaders in market share for digital SLR cameras. We envisioned a scenario in which we create a market where there was none before, expand that market, and ensure that Nikon digital SLR cameras have a commanding presence. Put another way, "speed" and "strategy" have been the keywords that underpin our growth. |
| Q3: | What are your strategies for dealing with the strong yen and expanding in overseas markets? |
| A3: | More than 80% of the Imaging Company's sales are in overseas markets, a natural proportion that reflects the relative scale of markets around the world. Expansion into newly emerging markets is extremely important for Nikon's continued growth, and we focus particularly on those markets with significant growth potential. These include China, which we expect will be on a par with the Japanese market in terms of sales volume, and Russia and India,
as well as the countries of Central and South America. As one facet of these efforts we have established Nikon Mexico, S.A. de C.V. a sales and service subsidiary for the region, in Mexico and began operations from the end of September.
As the proportion of overseas sales rises, measures to deal with the strong yen take on increasing importance. Two of our main measures involve shifting more production to places like Thailand and China, and greater procurement of local components. We are developing excellent local staff, and are capable of the same quality control available in Japan, which allows us to manufacture products overseas at a level of quality comparable to that in Japan. We already design production tools overseas, and as technical standards rise the trend toward local procurement of components will strengthen. We will retain our Japanese factories, which will play an enhanced role as bases for technological advancement and improved manufacturing. |
| Q4: | How are you responding to the abrupt changes in the market? |
| A4: | Over the past decade Nikon has continued to improve its corporate makeup, with a balanced increase to high dimensions for all corporate functions, including marketing, development and design, production, and sales. We currently employ a structure that allows us to modify production on a weekly basis to reflect the latest market data. When market conditions began to deteriorate in the fall of 2008, we decided quickly to adjust production at the end of 2008-making us the first in the industry to do so-and were one of the first to complete those adjustments. All of Nikon’s corporate functions operating simultaneously at high levels provide a true collective strength that can be leveraged in a short period of time. |
| Q5: | What is the “imaging world” concept Nikon envisions for the future? |
| A5: | Nikon enjoys a long history as a camera manufacturer, and has established a powerful corporate brand. We believe that as cameras enter the digital age, they should not be merely machines for capturing images, but communication tools that broaden the connections between people, including the way images are enjoyed after they are taken. By providing support for all aspects of photography from the taking of a picture to its appreciation, including uploading pictures to websites and allowing them to be viewed on distinctive output devices, Nikon is creating a future for itself as a provider of a unique "imaging world."
Nikon has taken some of the first steps toward realization of a distinctive imaging world with unique new products such as the image storage and sharing site "my Picturetown," and COOLPIX S1000pj, the world’s first*1 compact digital camera equipped with a ultra-small built-in projector that allows users to share pictures with family and friends in almost any location by projecting images on flat surfaces such as walls. Our goal for the future calls for realizing this vision, and gaining increasing prominence as a company that provides both the camera hardware and the imaging services.
Note:
* Among digital cameras as of August 4, 2009 (according to research conducted by Nikon Corporation). |
