FUJI REPORT
Fujifilm has uploaded here at Fujifilm Holdings their annual report 2013. As I already told you here, Fujifilm will cut down 50% of the compact camera lineup (good news, let’s focus on the X-series!). You can read the review of operations report here:
Now, how are the X-series sales? The “performance during the Year [is still] Under Review“. But while the whole camera segment is suffering because of the low demand for compact cameras, the high end cameras of the X-series are in good health. (In their earning presentations report they said “such high-end models as the X-series proceeded smoothly. Measures are being undertaken to swiftly shift to high-end models.”)
“[from the review of operations report] While sales were favorable for products such as the FUJIFILM X-E1, […] and the FUJIFILM X100S,[…] a surge in popularity of smartphones has been causing demand for compact digital cameras to decline. Accordingly, sales in the whole segment were down, at ¥92.0 billion”
Future Initiatives: 1) Expand sales of high-end models and interchangeable lens systems [or as said in the earning presentations report “Rapidly expand lineup of interchangeable lenses for premium interchangeable lens cameras by speeding up their development“] . 2) Reduce the number of compact models and substantially revise the model mix, concentrating on differentiated products. 3) Merge with the optical device business, enhancing synergies from development and production through to sales.”
Last thing, also the sales of the X20 are strong, as written here: “In the electronic imaging field, the sales of such premium compact cameras as the FUJIFILM X100S and the FUJIFILM X20 were strong, […]. Fujifilm is working to expand and strengthen the product lineup in the X Series of premium cameras that leverage Fujifilm’s exclusive technologies and, XF Lens Series, interchangeable lens systems, whose market is expected to be growing.”
That’s it, as FR-readers always said, focus on the X-system, everything else is just distraction (and loss of money)… oh, and I just had a brilliant idea to boost sales of the imaging solution departement… it’s called X-PRO2 and X-E2 :)!
enjoy your day
Patrick
11 Responses
but worldwide shipments of DSLR and MR like cameras present big differences
DLSR selling growth up (a lot )!!
Mirrorless selling growth down
see graphs here
http://www.43rumors.com/camera-slaes-history-from-2011-till-today-mirrorless-hype-is-over-dslr-rules/
Mike, you are jumping into conclusion too fast… This is a normal seasonal demand, people just buy more cameras for the summer and this is a “confused” signal, meaning that several very different market segments are in the same graph… 🙂 Trust me…I work with time-series quite a lot, part of my PhD is focused on that, forecasting, demand analysis and segmentation.
mmm I don’t understand..why.mirrorless demand go down in summer?
Hard to make a trend out of 15 months data … never the less DSLR looks to be recovering strongly, and MR is stagnating.
As to why, well, perhaps people are wanting a really good camera, and a reasonably good small camera. The current crop of MR cameras are neither and so sales stagnate.
Well, the new Olympus Pen 5 is a _really_ good small camera … I’m looking at one as an alternative to a M1 because its smaller, better, and there are some interesting (and cheaper than Fuji) lens options. One panasonic power zoom (28-84) that is the size of a small pancake lens – what a great alternative to a fixed pancake like the expensive 27mm from Fuji!
Its got everything Fuji left of the M1 … so I wonder what game Fuji is playing at? My guess in that in September/October Fuji will have to announce the next generation MR if they want to stay in the game, probably has to be FF give the noise coming from Sony.
Perhaps its simple … a DSLR is just easier to use. And until Fuji and the rest lift their game why would anyone bother switching, unless they had to cart the camera around, which is some people.
Actually, newly released sales data out of Japan shows that BOTH DSLR and MC sales are way off compared to a year ago:
http://www.dpreview.com/news/2013/08/01/camera-shipments-2013-CIPA
There are other issues at work:
1) nearly no MC releases in 2013. This “trend” people are commenting on will sway back the other way when more and new models of small cameras are released late this year and early 2014 (sorry Tim — as much as you insist Fuji is a sinking ship it just ain’t so);
2) cameras post-2011 are “good enough” for MOST people, and of THAT group, most are finding cell phones more convenient than compacts, MC and DSLRs — especially those who are social media centric.
For 99% of the crowd in THIS forum, Fuji cameras are excellent and what we prefer to shoot over other brands. Why some of you choose to loiter here just to flame the product line makes no sense. If you don’t like small cameras I’d think a full-blown DSLR forum would be better suited to you.
It is really only the serial upgrader and/or techno-geek / pixel-peeper for whom nothing made is ever good enough that fuels the fire of more / better / different / bigger / smaller / faster, etc and thus facilitate forums like this and others for “mine is better than yours” sparring.
3) As a whole, there is now so much redundancy and overlap among ALL types, models, and features of modern cameras that even sophisticated shooters consider the pool of available product oversaturated, and that leads to reduced sales. The next anticipated “trend” is not JUST toward full-frame in a compact body — it’s for the enthusiast’s choice in brand to release it’s own version of FF at an AFFORDABLE price point and quite honestly we aren’t there now. You can lie in anticipation of FF in a compact, but it ain’t going to come cheap and there’s no guarantee that it’s going to have all the best of ISO, DR, WB, and bells and whistles you want for features either. As Antonio mentions below, you’re also going to need FF glass and there’s more expense. In the meantime, there’s little or no buying / upgrading when someone is set on going FF from APS / mirrorless.
That’s because you don’t have a PhD Stan 🙂
The demand is not going “down”, the fluctuation is normal and the series is just stationary. The mirrorless sales are just constant since they are a fairly “special” segment of cameras… At the same time, the DSLR is just following the normal seasonal cycle. There are many things that go into equation to explain this pattern, new products launched, announcements, crisis and many other stuff… The only thing that we can conclude from the plot it appears that mirrorless cameras are stable while DSRL’s are still dominant (and mature) segment, following a normal seasonal pattern. As any newly introduced product segments, there are not so many first movers that will jump into the new technology, in some months it will reach maturity and then it is likely to observe the same behaviour as the already very mature dSLR segment.
Key thing: technology lifecycle phase is different between the two types of cameras
I wouldn’t call that stagnating, it looks like a normalisation to me and with the range of cameras on offer, the infancy of the product and the awareness of the product in the market – I reckon that not many csc’s are a ‘first camera purchase’, these figures are decent. I bet the publisher of this report who obviously loves slrs was sweating more looking at the plummet of slr sales a few months back…
To the publisher of the report, please publish it again in 36 months time and let’s see how slr sales compare to csc then…btw I don’t own a csc, I own a dslr, so I’m not a fan boy…but I can see how product development is moving at a pace not seen in dslr’s since autofocus was invented…
With a Sony NEX FF around the corner, Fuji will need to keep up, not move away from CMOS but have both a CMOS XPRO2 / XE2 and a XPROFF (or XPRO FF and CMOS XE2). The Sony will have better functionality so the key for Fuji is there design and for many including myself Made in Japan camera body and glass.
Going FF would require a new line of lenses and if Fuji slows the development of present XF line for APS-C sensors it will risk to loose share in this market segment, so they should come out with professional rate lenses to complete the XF roadmap, filling some gaps there, and update X-Pro and X-E bodies incorporating the features in X100s and maybe some new ones.
Concerning FF, I hope they come out with a fixed lens with OVF/EVF viewfinder and a fast lens (a distance scale ring and DOF marks would be great for range focus).
Good shout, a X100FF might be an easier way to go, one lens design. In one way catch up to Sony RX1, but with a prettier/better design and built in OVF/EVF. Personally I would prefer 50mm over traditional 35mm, but realise the 35mm is very popular in the fixed lens market. Perhaps split the difference 42mm, if Fuji ever wanted to consider such a thing this is the site to get the feedback from. Patrick could run a vote, fixed x100ff, 35,42,50mm.