[bhairavp]

Shutter bug bites, DSLR sales soar - The Times of India

Companies like Nikon and Canon are warming up to hundreds of consumers like Susarla. The DSLR market has been virtually doubling year-on-year growth in the consumer segment over the past three years. Three years ago, the consumer segment contributed to about 5% of the sales. Today, it accounts for 50%. In 2009, the DSLR market saw sales of 40,000 units and last year sales touched 80,000. This year, sales are expected to touch 2 lakh units.

This may seem like a small market when compared to the compact camera market that currently stands at 30 lakh units. "But in value terms, DSLRs contribute heavily, as the average spend on a DSLR starts at around Rs 40,000, when compared to compact camera, where consumers spends in the range of 10,000 to 12,000," says Alok Bharadwaj, senior vice-president , Canon India. Around 50% of the sales at Canon's exclusive brand outlets comes from DSLR cameras and the company is planning to ramp up from 16 stores to 300 in the next three years.

Unlike the compact camera market which is cluttered with various brands like Sony, Panasonic, Olympus and Minolta, Canon and Nikon have over 95% market share in the DSLR market in India, of which Nikon claims to have 55% market share. The typical DSLR buyer is between 25 years and 35 years and is looking to upgrade from a compact camera.

The reasons for the sudden spurt are not hard to find. Increasing disposable income and reducing prices of DSLR cameras are the biggest drivers. Three years ago, it was hard to find a DSLR for less than Rs 50,000. Today, there are models that start at less than Rs 30,000. Besides, with the camera market having moved entirely to digital and prints becoming rare, photography isn't as expensive a hobby as it used to be.

A lakh is a 100,000. You can see how that number has been growing here, and it is entirely C&N. No one else.

Hoya-Pentax has a distibutor in Sri Lanka and one in Bangladesh, but NO distri here in India. Seriously, they'll do well here, with weather sealing. A lot of people remember Pentax and their old film SLRs, and older lenses are widely available in the second-hand market.

Can anyone put me in touch with someone from Hoya-Pentax? I'm willing to set up a distributorship here, they need to see that it is the right time to get into potentially one of the largest camera markets in the world

[yusuf]

Good luck Bhairav. Yeah we need one - what happened to Allied btw ?

[bhairavp]

^NO clue. Haven't heard from them at all.
I'm going to try to find Ned Bunnell's contact details as well, he should be able to put me in touch with someone relevant at Pentax HQ.

[RonHendriks1966]

wow that is a nice market for the K-5 with wheaterseald lenses I think.

I should say to contact Hoya in Japan, or see if Hoya is in the India market with medical equipement and see if they are present.

Good luck on that!

[RonakG]

I was about to Post this article and see you have posted it already. I don't know why Hoya/Pentax doesn't realize the same. I see huge hoarding from Sony about their NEX series cameras all over the city, but not even a dealer for Pentax.

[RonHendriks1966]

Looked at HOYA's site and found this. Maybe contact them to see what their story is and for options on doing deals with Pentax.

HOYA LENS INDIA PVT.LTD

D28/5,TTC Indl.Area,Turbhe, Navi Mumbai-400 705. India
TEL 22-2768-6808/6809

[bhairavp]

Bump! Anyone know people over at Ricoh?

[hkiran1]

Penax marketing people should be real dumb fools for not to enter India yet. They should be awarded "King of all fools",
By the specs of Pentax DSLRs, the Indian market is for them to capture. The extreme weather conditions and the diverse terrain with a lot of (Lakhs and lakhs of) middle class people who can afford only the Semi pros. Its a growing economy and the iron is red hot.