Nikon sets up 100 per cent Indian marketing subsidiary

New Delhi: To cash in on the growing Indian preference for digital photography, Japanese camera manufacturer Nikon is moving in to shore up its market share; it has set up a 100 per cent marketing subsidiary in India to manage its Indian and West Asian operations.

Presently, Nikon has a 3 per cent market share in the compact camera category, and about 18 to 20 per cent of the SLR professional camera segment in India. The company is looking at changing its fortunes by cornering a 45 per cent share of the SLR market, and 10 per cent or more of the compact camera segment.

According to Hidehiko Tanaka, managing director, Nikon India, the 100 per cent subsidiary will help customers get a first-hand experience of the products launched by Nikon, and would lend strength to the company''s vision of garnering market share and being a dominant player in the domestic SLR and compact camera segments of digital photography.

Industry estimates peg the market size for compact cameras in 2007 at around seven lakh units, and 10,000 units for professional SLR cameras. Both categories have displayed a compounded annual growth rate of 40 per cent over the last three years, with the momentum expected to last for sometime to come.

Besides catering to the market in India, Nikon India will also manage the West Asian market comprising Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Turkey, Iran, Bahrain, Israel, Oman, Qatar and Egypt.

According to Prashant K Singh, marketing head of imaging products for the company, Nikon is in the process of expanding its retail dealer network in India, and plans to double the dealership network in size from the current 300 dealers. It is also looking to expand the number of service centres from the existing five in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Gurgaon.

New product launches in the offing will see Nikon swamp the market with seven new models by year-end, in the SLR and compact segments.