NIKON EXPECT 30% INCREASE IN DSLR SALES -> FOCUS ENTRY LE
Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 11:00 pmhttp://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid= ... kcaI1sbEMM
Interesting marketshare numbers quite close to Thoms predictions..... i.e. Canon 45+ Nikon 30+ etc...
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Nikon Forecasts 30% Rise in Its Digital SLR Shipments (Update1)
March 20 (Bloomberg) -- Nikon Corp., the world's sixth- biggest digital camera maker, expects shipments of models with interchangeable lenses to rise 30 percent next year on lower- priced models.
Shipments of digital single-lens reflex cameras, geared for professionals and hobbyists, will gain to more than 1.8 million units in the year ending March 2007, from the expected 1.4 million this year, Makoto Kimura, managing director for Nikon's imaging products unit, said in an interview.
Nikon is betting consumer demand for SLRs will make up for a price slump in the $13 billion digital camera industry that drove out Konica Minolta Holdings Inc. and Kyocera Corp. Nikon, which gets 55 percent of sales from cameras and lenses, competes with Canon Inc. in the professional market, where the two companies have an 80 percent market share.
``The driver will be the entry-level models,'' priced around $1000, Kimura said. ``We want to make them smaller and lighter to attract new users, as well as make them more affordable.''
Digital SLR cameras use interchangeable lenses to capture images that are then stored on a computer chip. More consumers are switching to digital formats as new models are priced lower, offer sharper images and have less shutter delay when taking pictures.
Entry-Level Strategy
``We're reviewing our marketing and pricing strategy for entry-level models'' because this is the area that's going to grow, Kimura said. Nikon on Feb. 6 cut this year's digital SLR shipment target by 200,000 units on lower-than-expected sales of its ``D50'' entry-level model.
Nikon also offers the ``D200,'' priced at about 180,000 yen ($1551) for advanced amateurs, and the ``D2X'' for professionals, which sells at about 460,000 yen, according to shopping Web site kakaku.com.
``If they have the right product strategy, they can achieve 30 percent to 40 percent growth in digital SLR shipments,'' because they have the technology and brand, said Tetsuya Wadaki, a Tokyo-based analyst at Nomura Holdings Inc. He has a ``neutral'' rating on the company's shares.
Nikon shares rose 1.6 percent to 1,891 yen as of the 11 a.m. midday break on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Staying Ahead
To fend off competition from Canon and newer players such as Sony Corp. and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Kimura said he will spend more on research and development, without providing figures. He aims to raise the ratio of R&D against sales and offer new models more quickly.
In the year ended March 2005, Nikon's research costs in the camera segment rose 28 percent to 13.2 billion yen, making up for 40 percent of the overall research expenses.
``Up-front investment in digital SLRs will go on for the next three years'' because this is the area of growth, Kimura said. ``In addition, the lifecycle of an entry-level digital SLR has now come down to about 1.5 years, compared with 3 to 5 years for analog SLRs.''
Nikon's camera unit contributes the biggest share of operating profit. The company also is the world's second-largest maker of steppers, machines that print circuitry onto silicon wafers.
New Rivals
Consumer electronics makers Sony and Matsushita have said they aim to expand in the digital SLR market. Sony, which at one time only offered compact models, bought Konica Minolta's SLR business this year. Matsushita and camera maker Olympus Corp. are jointly developing digital SLRs, as well as Pentax Corp. and South Korea's Samsung Techwin Co.
``Prices of digital SLRs will fall'' as more companies aim to tap consumers who want to take photographs like professionals, Kimura said. ``Body prices of digital SLRs will fall below 50,000 yen'' as early as 2008, he said.
To offset price declines, Nikon is shaving costs by using the same parts for different models and procuring in bigger volumes, Kimura said.
Nikon is also improving efficiency at factories by replacing old equipment. The company makes entry-level digital SLRs in Thailand, and professional models in Sendai, northern Japan.
Digital SLR shipments will gain 33 percent to 1.4 million this year, Nikon said on Feb. 6. That outpaces the 26 percent growth to 7 million units for compact models, which have less features and no detachable lens.
Global Growth
Global shipments of digital SLRs will gain 23 percent to 4.68 million units in 2006 from a year earlier, Camera & Imaging Products Association said on Jan. 31.
Nikon on Feb. 6 raised its annual operating profit target for its camera segment by 29 percent to 33 billion yen, which compares with 16.8 billion yen a year earlier.
Canon, world's biggest-digital camera maker, expects shipments of digital SLRs to rise 16 percent to 2.2 million this year from 2005. The maker of EOS aims for a profit margin of its camera unit to rise to 21.7 percent this year from 19.8 percent a year earlier.
Interesting marketshare numbers quite close to Thoms predictions..... i.e. Canon 45+ Nikon 30+ etc...
------------------------
Nikon Forecasts 30% Rise in Its Digital SLR Shipments (Update1)
March 20 (Bloomberg) -- Nikon Corp., the world's sixth- biggest digital camera maker, expects shipments of models with interchangeable lenses to rise 30 percent next year on lower- priced models.
Shipments of digital single-lens reflex cameras, geared for professionals and hobbyists, will gain to more than 1.8 million units in the year ending March 2007, from the expected 1.4 million this year, Makoto Kimura, managing director for Nikon's imaging products unit, said in an interview.
Nikon is betting consumer demand for SLRs will make up for a price slump in the $13 billion digital camera industry that drove out Konica Minolta Holdings Inc. and Kyocera Corp. Nikon, which gets 55 percent of sales from cameras and lenses, competes with Canon Inc. in the professional market, where the two companies have an 80 percent market share.
``The driver will be the entry-level models,'' priced around $1000, Kimura said. ``We want to make them smaller and lighter to attract new users, as well as make them more affordable.''
Digital SLR cameras use interchangeable lenses to capture images that are then stored on a computer chip. More consumers are switching to digital formats as new models are priced lower, offer sharper images and have less shutter delay when taking pictures.
Entry-Level Strategy
``We're reviewing our marketing and pricing strategy for entry-level models'' because this is the area that's going to grow, Kimura said. Nikon on Feb. 6 cut this year's digital SLR shipment target by 200,000 units on lower-than-expected sales of its ``D50'' entry-level model.
Nikon also offers the ``D200,'' priced at about 180,000 yen ($1551) for advanced amateurs, and the ``D2X'' for professionals, which sells at about 460,000 yen, according to shopping Web site kakaku.com.
``If they have the right product strategy, they can achieve 30 percent to 40 percent growth in digital SLR shipments,'' because they have the technology and brand, said Tetsuya Wadaki, a Tokyo-based analyst at Nomura Holdings Inc. He has a ``neutral'' rating on the company's shares.
Nikon shares rose 1.6 percent to 1,891 yen as of the 11 a.m. midday break on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Staying Ahead
To fend off competition from Canon and newer players such as Sony Corp. and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Kimura said he will spend more on research and development, without providing figures. He aims to raise the ratio of R&D against sales and offer new models more quickly.
In the year ended March 2005, Nikon's research costs in the camera segment rose 28 percent to 13.2 billion yen, making up for 40 percent of the overall research expenses.
``Up-front investment in digital SLRs will go on for the next three years'' because this is the area of growth, Kimura said. ``In addition, the lifecycle of an entry-level digital SLR has now come down to about 1.5 years, compared with 3 to 5 years for analog SLRs.''
Nikon's camera unit contributes the biggest share of operating profit. The company also is the world's second-largest maker of steppers, machines that print circuitry onto silicon wafers.
New Rivals
Consumer electronics makers Sony and Matsushita have said they aim to expand in the digital SLR market. Sony, which at one time only offered compact models, bought Konica Minolta's SLR business this year. Matsushita and camera maker Olympus Corp. are jointly developing digital SLRs, as well as Pentax Corp. and South Korea's Samsung Techwin Co.
``Prices of digital SLRs will fall'' as more companies aim to tap consumers who want to take photographs like professionals, Kimura said. ``Body prices of digital SLRs will fall below 50,000 yen'' as early as 2008, he said.
To offset price declines, Nikon is shaving costs by using the same parts for different models and procuring in bigger volumes, Kimura said.
Nikon is also improving efficiency at factories by replacing old equipment. The company makes entry-level digital SLRs in Thailand, and professional models in Sendai, northern Japan.
Digital SLR shipments will gain 33 percent to 1.4 million this year, Nikon said on Feb. 6. That outpaces the 26 percent growth to 7 million units for compact models, which have less features and no detachable lens.
Global Growth
Global shipments of digital SLRs will gain 23 percent to 4.68 million units in 2006 from a year earlier, Camera & Imaging Products Association said on Jan. 31.
Nikon on Feb. 6 raised its annual operating profit target for its camera segment by 29 percent to 33 billion yen, which compares with 16.8 billion yen a year earlier.
Canon, world's biggest-digital camera maker, expects shipments of digital SLRs to rise 16 percent to 2.2 million this year from 2005. The maker of EOS aims for a profit margin of its camera unit to rise to 21.7 percent this year from 19.8 percent a year earlier.
