India's Digital Camera Sector too Small For Local Manufacturing

Despite the firm's expansion, the market is not substantial enough for its parent company, Tokyo-based Nikon Corporation, to establish factories and supply chains in India, according to Sajjan Kumar, managing director of Nikon India.

“All our cameras remain fully imported from other manufacturing hubs," he added.

Only two out of every 100 smartphone users in India purchase a dedicated digital camera, according to Keizo Fujii, Nikon's managing director and chief regional officer for South-East Asia, Oceania, Africa, and the Middle East.

“India is a unique market in comparison to Nikon’s other global markets due to its vast wedding industry,” Fujii said. “Excluding Japan and China, India accounts for 40% of Nikon Corporation’s revenue in Asia and Africa."

According to Nikon's internal estimations, 2.5 lakh digital cameras were sold in India during fiscal year 2023-24. Kumar estimated that the market might reach 2.65 lakh units by 2024-25.

In comparison, approximately 150 million smartphones are estimated to be sold in 2024-25, with the digital camera market accounting for only 0.2% of the smartphone market by volume, according to the analysis.

As per Kumar, the market size and average selling price of digital cameras have consistently increased since the end of the pandemic, with entry-level cameras seeing a tiny dip in sales and mid to high-end cameras growing by 12% year on year. The report states that Nikon deems cameras priced above one lakh rupees to be mid-range and high-end.