Nikon India’s compact digital camera (CDC) market seems to have shaken a bit after the country’s smartphone sales witnessing a boom in recent times.

“CDCs or entry level cameras are facing some challenges in terms of sales and dwindling customer base. To over come these issues, we have added some features such as high zoom, all weather etc in the compact camera product category,” said Kazuo Ninomiya, Managing Director, Nikon India.

However, he went on to add that the smartphone sales have not affected the digital SLR (DSLR) camera market, as the customer preference to migrate to this product category is on the rise.

The impact on CDC’s has also been felt in the company’s global business too with the sales in this camera segment remained flat in FY17 at ¥380 billion, which was almost same in the previous fiscal. “We are bullish on the India, as the contribution from Indian business to the global turnover was four per cent in FY17 against three per cent in FY16,” he told BusinessLine .

On the DSLR market, he said the company is having a 55 per cent market share with a sale of five lakh pieces and 50 per cent in CDC by selling four lakh pieces. DSLR market is showing a positive momentum at 15 per cent and the company is expecting the double digit growth this year too.

Revenue target

Nikon India, which has completed 10 years of operations in the country, is eyeing a sales revenue of ₹1,200 crore in this fiscal against ₹1,100 crore registered last year. The company has lined up several plans that included giving more focus on DSLR category, opening more Nikon Experience Zones, organising photography workshops especially for weddings, various promotional activities by earmarking an investment of ₹60 crore.

Ruling out the possibility of setting up a manufacturing plant in India in the short term, the Managing Director said, “We are positive, but it depends on the market growth”. Currently, the cameras are imported mainly from Thailand, followed by Japan and China.

Nikon India, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Nikon Corporation Tokyo, has also forayed into instruments business this year with the inauguration of Instruments Business Technical Centre in Bengaluru in June. The centre will provide solutions such as information sharing and professional services which the industry demands today.

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