Kenichi Tanaka, Managing Director,
Fujifilm India
What, according to you, is the market for Thermal/Dye-Sublimation printers in India and what is Fuji film’s market share?
As the number of studios are increasing due to increase in the requirement of passport photographs, the demand for dye sublimation printers are increasing. As a leader in Thermal/Dye sublimation printer sales in India, Fuji film is making all the effort to be a market leader in this segment.
How are the Photo Book Printers faring in India?
It is a bit slow compared to Japan, Europe and North America. However, the Photo Book concept is gaining popularity in the metro cities, especially with amateurs. We expect to see flaring photo book business in the near future.
What is the potential for Dry Mini Labs in India. Is Fujifilm o ffering any new models?
Due to change in technology, dry mini labs are the most convenient equipment to cater to all the segments of photo printing business as they require less space, less manpower and are easy to operate. We expect the market to grow at a slow pace. Fuji film is the leader in the Photo Imaging business. We are also introducing the Dry Mini Lab DL 650 at the Photo Fair 2013.
What is Fuji film’s camera market share in India and what plans do you have for 2013?
We have a market share of 7% in and plan to increase it to 10% in financial year 2013.
We are happy that Fuji film, worldwide, is offering tough competition to the leading digital camera manufacturers. Besides very good image quality, many X-series models o er the appealing retro look. On the other hand, these models are very expensive. What has been your rationale, considering that the Indian market is very price-sensitive?
The current X-series cameras which have been introduced are the top-end of the interchangeable lens cameras. They deliver exceptional performance; their image quality is as good as that of full-frame D-SLRs and have been acknowledged by one and all. These are very price competitive if you compare them with high-end interchangeable lens cameras available in the Indian market.The Indian market is quite large at the lower price points, and we will be introducing a line in the coming months to address that consumer segment too.
What are the new lenses planned for 2013?
We will be strengthening our Lens Road Map. In 2012, we had: XF18mm, XF35mm, XF60mm, the 14mm, and the 18-55mm zoom. In 2013, we will add another 5 more lenses which will include, pancake, super-wide and telephoto.
What is the warranty period on Fuji film cameras and what service facilities do you offer?
We o ffer a 2-year warranty against any manufacturing defects in the camera. Our after-sales- service network comprises of 5 company owned service centers in major metro cities and more than 100 collection points across various cities. We are further enhancing it with the appointment of franchisees for post-sales service.
Any plans of introducing D-SLRs?
We have entered the ILCC market with XPro1 and XE1. These will give the other ILCCS a run for their money. Globally, the mirrorless ILCCs are becoming aspirational photo capturing device; therefore we will focus our energies on this platform and not go for D-SLRs.
Rohinton Mehta
