Fujifilm to sharpen India focus with mirrorless cameras, medical devices

Fujifilm India, which has completed nearly a decade of operations in the country, expects digital mirrorless cameras and medical device businesses to be among its key growth drivers in the coming years. The Japanese imaging technology major will also be focussing on building a stronger brand equity especially among young consumers in India.

Haruto Iwata, Managing Director, Fujifilm India said, “We believe India has the potential to be among our top ten markets in the next few years. It is a critical market for us which is witnessing rising disposable incomes and a growing economy. As a company, we are preparing our teams and dealer network to be able to tap into this potential.”

Targeting double-digit growth, Fujifilm India expects to cross the ₹1,200 crore in terms of sales revenues in 2018.

DSLR challenge

The company is betting big on growing penetration of digital mirrorless cameras, in a market which is currently dominated by DSLR cameras. Globally, mirrorless camera demand is expected to exceed DSLRs’ by 2019. “Digital mirrorless camera penetration is less than 10 per cent in India currently. But we expect mirrorless camera demand to take over DSLR cameras by 2022-23 in India,” he added.

The company is beefing up the X-series of digital mirrorless cameras with both high-end and entry-level models. Currently, a large part of the sales is driven by wedding and professional photographers. At the same time, it has been pushing its instant camera range- Instax in the country. As part of its brand enhancement strategy, Fujifilm India plans to ramp up the presence of its experience brand store concept called the Wonder Photo Shop across metros in collaboration with franchises.

“In the next 2-3 years, we will expand Wonder Photo Shops across metros and expect to have ten such stores,” Iwata said.

The company is also planning to introduce exclusive brand stores dedicated to its mirrorless camera range targeted at professional photographers, he added. “We are a very popular consumer brand in mature markets. We are focusing on this brand enhancement strategy to replicate that in the Indian market,” he added.

Currently, over 50 per cent of the Fujifilm’s India revenues comes from the medical device business.

Besides imaging products, the company has a presence in several other businesses, including graphic systems, optical devices and motion picture and recording media products.

Iwata said that the company’s medical devices business is driven by the computer radiology and digital radiology segment.

“The Indian government’s focus on improving healthcare infrastructure particularly in tier-2 and -3 regions is in line with Fujifilm’s endeavour to provide the much-needed preventive healthcare solutions in these regions,” Iwata added.

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