Nikon India is planning to leverage the festive season in the country to enhance its revenue growth. The camera and imaging equipment maker expects a revenue growth of 10-12 percent compared to last year. India’s festive season generates around 35 percent of revenue for Nikon India due to high demand. Despite the growth, Nikon India has no plans to set up manufacturing units in India and will continue importing cameras and imaging equipment.
Nikon India recently expanded its mirrorless camera range with the launch of the latest Z6III full-frame mirrorless camera in India. Currently, mirrorless lenses and mirrorless bodies constitute 80 percent of Nikon India’s product sales. Against the backdrop of this launch, Sajjan Kumar, Managing Director of Nikon India, spoke to Storyboard18 and said, “We as a brand are looking at almost 10-12 percent growth in terms of absolute value. In our country, mainly winter weddings are the biggest seasonal period which starts just after Diwali. There is also festive demand by August which starts onwards from Onam.”
Nikon India generates around 35 percent of its revenue during festive seasons. Kumar said, “We see a lot of demand during Ganesh Chaturthi and Durga Puja as well. We see an upward tick during wildlife seasons and we are expecting that this coming wedding period will be really good.”
Today multiple companies have set up manufacturing units in India while Nikon India continues to import camera and imaging equipment. When asked if Nikon India has any plans to set up manufacturing plants in India, Kumar said, “No, not at this stage. Currently, our absolute numbers or customer base is too small for this industry to set up a manufacturing unit.”
He further said, “Looking at the demand in our country and our population I think this number is small. Yes, that offers a lot of opportunity but that I think we need to see. But currently we don’t have any plans (to set up a manufacturing unit).”
According to a Mordor Intelligence report, the global digital camera market size is estimated at USD 5.39 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach USD 6.83 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 4.85 percent during the forecast period (2024-2029). The Asia-Pacific region is expected to witness the fastest growth due to the current photography trend in Asia-Pacific which fuels the desire for digital cameras. Photography has grown more user-friendly and economical, supporting the region’s demand for digital cameras.
India ranks number 4 in terms of revenue contribution to Nikon Corporation. Talking about the market share, Sajjan Kumar said, “Currently we have a 30 percent market share in India and we are expecting a growth of 2 percent. Nikon India achieved Rs 973 crore revenue last year and this year we are looking to clock around Rs 1050 crore.”
Elaborating on the global revenue contribution, Kumar said, “Globally, only in the imaging segment of Nikon, India is number 4. Our contribution should be around 4-5 percent to the global revenue contribution to Nikon Corporation. The major countries which contribute to Nikon are the US, China, Germany, and India. At times we are very close to the numbers with Germany.”
Nikon India entered the healthcare segment which contributes around 5 percent of its revenue. Kumar said, “We are looking at almost 20 percent growth in the healthcare segment in this fiscal year and we have just entered this category a year and a half back. We are seeing the focus and spending from the government towards healthcare as a segment. The conducive environment and efforts by the government are offering us more opportunities as a brand as we operate in a niche segment of just the biological range of microscopes when it comes to healthcare in India, catering to research institutes, educational institutes, or even IVF labs. For our healthcare division, we are investing in teams to meet the consumer’s requirements and expectations from us in sales and service.”
With a footprint of 1500 stores across retail, Large Format Retailers, and experience zones, Nikon India says that their intent is to make their products widely available. Kumar said, “Nowadays, when a customer is buying a camera or lenses, they are either a serious hobbyist or a professional. For offline, in our 140 Experience Zones, we offer varied services to our customers. We do 700 plus workshops across 250 plus cities.”
Our advertising and marketing strategies are a mix of online and offline. We have understood that now, a good mix of online and offline activities will help. We are not into outdoor or TV in a big way. He added.