For Mr Ichiro Terato, Executive Vice-President, Member of the Board, and Representative Director, Nikon Corporation, the current economic expansion in India will continue for a long time. The Japanese camera maker has said multiple-ownership and lowering of prices for cameras will grow the market significantly in India. In an interview, Mr Terato speaks on Nikon's vision for India.

How important is the Indian growth story for Nikon?

India is a highly promising market for growth. There is a demand explosion due to economic factors and lowering of digital camera prices. This has made cameras affordable. Even though currently India contributes less than one per cent to the global turnover, it is a market waiting to be tapped.

What is the roadmap for growth?

The compact camera market is about 2-4 million while digital SLR units stands at one lakh units. Nikon has a 20 per cent share in the compact camera segment and nearly 50 per cent in DLSR. This financial year will see intensive and increased involvement from the global headquarters in order to augment product availability, consumer outreach and promotion of a photography culture in India.

Many leading brands have set up their own flagship stores. Will Nikon be following a similar trend?

Our policy worldwide is to sell through distributors. Therefore, we are not looking at setting a flagship outlet. In India, we sell through 2,000-odd multi-brand sales points besides modern retailers like Croma and Reliance Digital. It gives customers a choice to compare and make an informed decision. However, we have special Nikon zones to give a first hand experience of the product.

What is the investment for consumer outreach?

The total marketing spend for the current fiscal (April '10-March '11) was Rs 60 crore. We have doubled it for the current year. We will be rolling out above-the-line campaigns.

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