Canon India loses top slot in digital cameras

Digital camera maker Canon is aiming to bounce back after being pipped to the top slot in Indian market share by aggressive Sony.

Digital camera maker Canon is aiming to bounce back after being pipped to the top slot in Indian market share by aggressive Sony. Canon, which admits it lost two percentage points in the digital camera category, hopes to better it by 8 points in 2009, with a 25 per cent revenue jump to Rs 840 crore.

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Details of market shares are not clear. A spokesman for industry researcher IDC said he could not immediately provide the details, while Canon says it had a 22 per cent share at the end of last December, down two points from a year earlier, and missing its target of getting a 25 per cent share.

“During the last quarter of 2008, there were a lot of irrational marketing activities and we faced major pressure from international players for stock clearance,” Alok Bharadwaj, managing director at Canon India told Hindustan Times. “However, with our line-up for 2009, we are confident about achieving our targets.”

Around 12 lakh digital cameras are likely to be sold in India in 2009 of which Canon aims to sell close to 3.6 lakh units. Canon’s entry-level digital cameras are priced around Rs 9,000 while Sony and Samsung sell entry-level products at Rs 8,000 and Rs 6,500, respectively.