S. Srinivasu, Head-Consumer Business, Kodak India
Kodak has been synonymous with affordable and easy-to-use cameras right from the days of film and emulsion. With the Photofair 2011 as a platform, Kodak aims to launch India-specifi c products that are reasonably priced and loaded with features.
Mathew Thottungal interviews S. Srinivasu, Head-Consumer Business of Kodak India. Excerpts from the interview:
This will come from launching special products aimed at Indian markets, making products more affordable, promoting new applications and other such activities.
What are some of the new products that Kodak India will be unveiling at Photofair 2011 and according to you, which out of the new products will stand out and why?
Kodak, the world leader in Photography business in showcasing some of the new products and applications from capture to print targeted at Professional Photographers, Lab owners and entrepreneurs during Photofair.
As a leader in the photo-imaging business and being the only photocompany to offer the full range of capture to print products, at the fair Kodak launched a range of products to help capture, manage and print their digital images seamlessly.
Kodak will showcase its latest products and solutions under 5 different business categories namely: Professional Solutions, Instant Printing Solutions, Digital Cameras & Devices, Digital Printing Solutions and Print Scanners.
Some of key product being showcased are:
1. The innovative Kodak Photobooth
2. The award winning Kodak Pulse WiFi Digital Frame
3. Two new photographic paper to help retailers and photographers innovative photobook solutions
4. Kodak Nexpress EP Printer
5. Range of digital accessories including batteries, chargers, memory devices etc.
With all the new impetus and the push towards digital cameras, picture frames, pocket video cameras, digital kiosks and thermal printing, etc, Kodak’s emphasis to do a turnaround internationally is still a far cry. How do you propose to drive Kodak India forward in the new year?
Kodak has the No.1or No. 2 market share position in many of the businesses we operate in India. We are the market leader in retail printing, Kiosks, consumer films and cameras. Whereas, we hold the No. 2 share in Digital cameras ( according to IDC & GFK in compact digital cameras). Our main challenge in 2011 is to achieve growth in the market in many businesses. This will come from launching special products aimed at Indian markets, making products more affordable, promoting new applications and other such activities.
At present in the Indian context, we’re seeing an increased demand for better quality compacts. Is there any possibility of Kodak unveiling high end compacts bundled with higher pixels and features to narrow the gap between DSC’s and D-SLRs. Comment. Kodak as always continues to invest in developing products with the latest features. Our last few products were developed keeping in mind the needs of Indian consumers.
Our entry level cameras come loaded with all features like 12 megapixel,3-5x zoom, one touch share button to upload to Facebook, Orkut and E-mail,face recognition etc.
Considering that the penetration in India remains low for digital cameras and the market is predominantly driven by fi rst time buyers, our focus is to launch cameras with features that enable consumers to capture and share their moments effortlessly.
The recently concluded festive season sales were a runaway success for all major camera vendors, including Kodak, with many virtually running out of stocks. How was the season for Kodak India and how do you propose to continue with the momentum while going forward in a price sensitive market like India. Comment.
The Indian market is growing at a considerable pace of 25percent to 30percent year on year and is expected to grow at similar rate in 2011. The 2010 festive season was a success for Kodak and we ended the year strongly at #2 position, as per GfK. The Indian market continues to be a value segment market with over 65 percent of volumes coming from below Rs. 7,500 priced models. Kodak has been a leader in the entry level price bands and will continue to launch feature-rich digital cameras in 2011, to provide consumers with quality capture experience at affordable prices.
Mathew Thottungal
