Keeping its focus towards bringing innovative products in the Indian market, Fujifilm is looking forward to aggressively expand business opportunities around its Image and Capture Division in India.
Haruto Iwata, Managing Director of Fujifilm India Pvt. Ltd interacts with Zia Askari from ChannelDrive.in about the company’s innovative strategy for India and how it is looking forward to growing the opportunity here.
What is the target audience for X series range? How does Fujifilm look at the market opportunity in India, considering the rise in demand for smartphones here?
With our X-series range we are targeting professional photographers who are looking for light weight cameras. These professionals will find good options under our range of mirrorless cameras because of its high performance and outstanding image quality. X-series include cameras that are great for candid shots which, makes it an ideal option for wedding documentary shooters giving them sharp details and excellent colors even in low light.
While we know that demand for entry level compact digital cameras are largely taken over by smartphones, still we believe that there are customers in the market who are looking for high image quality. They want an offering with outstanding image quality and advance features. Our target is the same set of professionals who live for Photography. We are incorporating features like LCD screen, Bluetooth connectivity and HD video recording to fulfill all their needs.
We have also observed that Indian consumers are primarily driven by interchangeable lens category out of which 90% is DSLR and 10% is mirrorless camera.
Considering the scenario and trends, we believe there is much scope for the mirrorless market to evolve vis-à-vis DSLR which is essentially the reason why we want to introduce new products in the X-Series Line-up.
How X-H1 stands out its competition in the market?
The Fujifilm X-H1 is the highest performance camera in the X-series range, known for its superior image quality created using Fujifilm’s proprietary color reproduction technology. X-H1 is designed with robust and durable body, incorporating a range of extremely useful features that supports shooting in various scenarios by professional photographers and videographers. This model includes the latest 5-axis in body image stabilization, which has maximum of 5.5 stops and flicker reduction mode which enhances the quality of indoor sports photography.
Do you think market for Fujifilm is growing in India compared to other markets in the Asian Region?
India is an important market for Fujifilm. Ever since our entry into the Indian Market, it has been our constant endeavor to provide world class products that best suit the requirements of the Indian consumers. During FY2016-17, we posted a turnover of Rs.1000 Crores out of which Medical Systems was the major contributor followed by Photo Imaging, Image Capturing, Graphic Arts, Recording Media and Industrial Products respectively.
This year we have very aggressive plans to expand our Image Capturing Division along with our other various divisions.
We are witnessing a promising future for ourselves in the Indian market. Each category that Fujifilm has a presence in is driven by long term commitment towards our customers and partners. Our growth drivers are coming from new age customers who are aware of what they want and are quality conscious. As we continue to chart our business roadmap in India, we believe that in 2018 we will effectively capture customer’s minds with our robust pipeline of products.
What are your efforts to re-create Fujifilm’s brand image beyond just being known as a Camera company?
Fujifilm India have 6 major businesses that operate in India which include Photo imaging, Image Capturing, Medical division, Graphic arts division, Industrial Products and Recording Media. In most of the domains we are the market leaders. Though people may have a perception of Fujifilm as just a camera company but the fact is that 50% of our revenue comes from the Medical Business.
Further to enhance Fujifilm India brand awareness we are actively working on our marketing plans, which includes advertisement in print (newspapers and magazines), outdoor media and participating in industry and consumer exhibitions.
Going forward what are some big innovations that Fujifilm is bringing in the Indian market?
In the camera division we have just launched X-H1 which is our high-end mirrorless camera with a various technological enhancements. 4 months back in the Instax range we had launched a hybrid instant camera which can save and print images, nothing like that is available in the market, also this year we will launch our GFX series in India which is specifically for professional photographers who want the best in class experience and high quality image precision.
What are your Investment plans in India and where do you see your India business in next 5 years in terms of contributing to the parent company?
Fujifilm India is focused on expanding its strategic key products in its Image Capturing Business by promoting the joy of photography through its X-Series Range of mirrorless cameras for professional photographers and Instax range of Instant Cameras for the selfie generation alongside its Photo Imaging Business which includes a range of customized Photo Album and print solutions especially for the Wedding Market.
Our focus will also be on strengthening our Medical division with the introduction of highly advanced systems for the Healthcare Sector and the Graphic arts division with our Wide Format Ink Jet Printers.
Our target is to achieve double digit growth in the next year for which we need to focus on ‘Aggressive and strong top and bottom line performance’.
