The Japanese website Newswitch published the article "China is leading the camera market, Nikon, Fujifilm, Canon, etc. to deepen their reach with high-priced models":
The camera market is on a recovery trend. Demand in China, which can be said to be the driving force, is solid, and with the tailwind of the weaker yen, sales of high-priced models are strong and shipments are increasing. Another contributing factor is that consumers have more opportunities to go out and take photos as the coronavirus pandemic subsides. On the other hand, with the successive announcements of new products, sales promotion activities by each company will become more active, and product development will accelerate in anticipation of the 2024 Paris Olympics and other events. As competition intensifies, companies are likely to be required to further strengthen their supply systems.
"China's strength is driving the camera market." A person in charge of the Camera and Imaging Products Association (CIPA) says: According to CIPA, the total number of digital cameras shipped from January to September 2023 was approximately 5.69 million units, down 0.6 % from the same period last year. The total shipment value increased by 11.7% year on year to approximately 525.3 billion yen. Approximately 1.18 million units were shipped to China, which is approaching the 1.45 million units shipped from January to December 2019 before the coronavirus outbreak.
Here is the recap by Digicame-info (Google translated):
- The camera market is on a recovery trend. Demand in China, which can be said to be the driving force, is solid, and with the tailwind of the weaker yen, sales of high-priced models are strong and shipments are increasing. With the successive announcements of new products, each company's sales promotion activities will become more active, and product development will accelerate in anticipation of the 2024 Paris Olympics and other events. As competition intensifies, companies are likely to be required to further strengthen their supply systems.
- "China's strength is driving the camera market." A CIPA official says: According to CIPA, the total number of digital cameras shipped in the January-September period of 2023 was approximately 5.69 million units, down 0.6% from the same period last year. The total shipment amount increased by 11.7% year on year to approximately 525.3 billion yen. Approximately 1.18 million units were shipped to China, which is approaching the 1.45 million units shipped from January to December 2019 before the coronavirus outbreak.
- Meanwhile, shipments to Japan decreased from approximately 2.31 million units in 2019 to approximately 920,000 units in 2022. In 2022, sales for Europe decreased by 50.3% from 2019 to approximately 2.39 million units. Shipments in China in 2022 are approximately 1.25 million units. Although it has decreased compared to 2019, the extent of the decrease is small compared to other regions. Sales remained steady in 2023, and a CIPA official said, ``I hear that the Chinese economy is cooling down, but cameras are doing well.'' Nikon's Director and Senior Managing Executive Officer Shisuke Tokunari also said, ``We haven't felt much of an impact from the slowdown in the Chinese economy.''
- Manufacturers are also focusing on mid-to-high-end models with high unit prices. For example, Nikon is receiving strong inquiries for its Z8, which costs approximately 600,000 yen including consumption tax. Minoru Asada, Canon's senior managing executive officer, believes that ``competition has become more intense.'' Fujifilm President Goto gives feedback on the new product Instax, saying, ``We are increasing production.''
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