Nikon flashes bigger pie

Nikon India Pvt Ltd plans to add 400 franchised outlets by the end of this fiscal, so that the total number of outlets goes up to 1200. The company is targeting at 35 per cent growth in turnover in 2009 as compared with 2008. This can be achieved by expansion of dealership network and launching of camera models, as the Indian market is relatively stable in the face of economic downturn.

The company plans to increase its India market share of SLR cameras to 45 per cent by 2010 from 37 per cent this year. The market share for compact cameras is also likely to increase to 10 per cent from 8 per cent.

The industry registered 40 per cent growth in 2008 as the market was relatively less hit by the economic downturn. China, with a share of 9 per cent of global sales, was the only other market that registered high growth this year. The company has launched four models of SLRs and eight compact cameras this year and plans to launch four in the compact category by December. Nikon also plans to launch a camera with projector facility soon.