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Nikon sets up India subsidiary

— PHOTO: RAJEEV BHATT

GAINING FOOTHOLD: Hidehiko Tanaka (centre), Managing Director, Nikon India Private Limited, with Neha Kapoor, former Miss India, and photographer Raghu Rai, at a press conference in New Delhi on Wednesday.

NEW DELHI: Eyeing the fast growing Indian camera market, Japan’s Nikon Corporation on Wednesday announced the setting up of a wholly-owned subsidiary in India.

Nikon India Private India will not only boost the company’s sales in India but also manage the large West Asian market comprising Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Turkey, Iran, Bahrain, Israel, Oman and Qatar.

Announcing this at a press conference here, Nikon India’s Managing Director, Hidehiko Tanaka, said, “India is a highly promising market. Headquartered in Gurgaon, Nikon India will augment its distribution network and further improve superior service support. We hope to capture 45 per cent of the Indian digital SLR market and ten per cent of the Indian compact camera market by 2010.”

Nikon, which has three per cent market share in the compact camera category and 18-20 per cent in the professional range in India, now has 300 dealers and plans to double it by the end of this year to enhance the availability of its products across India.

It is also going to increase the number of authorised service centres by 2010. It now has five authorised centres in Delhi, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Bangalore and Kolkata.

Nikon compact cameras come in the Rs. 9,000-24,000 price range, while professional cameras cost between Rs. 40,000 and Rs. 2.50 lakh.

Stating that the company would launch five new products this year in various categories, Nikon India’s Marketing Head (Imaging Products), Prashant K. Singh, said all the company’s products available globally would be introduced in India. Nikon will ensure that its cameras are available in India across all price points and satisfy the needs of all photographers, from beginners to professionals.

“We will also organise various activities such as workshops and photo-contests to promote photography culture in India,” he said.

Expressing concern over the huge grey camera market in India that is almost 50 per cent of the 15-lakh units sold annually, Mr. Singh said the opening of Nikon’s subsidiary and its expansion would help Indian customers buy products from authorised dealers. “Moreover, we might soon announce a price cut as some of our cameras are likely to get a 10 per cent tax exemption,” he added.

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