Market share of digicam

Canon has the top share of camera market!

The market size of degital camera(digicam) in Japan is about 700 billion yen(about 7 billion dollars), digicam shipment volume is 24.2 million units according to the report of Camera & Imaging Products Association in 2016. The shipment volume of compact camera decrease about 40% from previous year because they cannot differentiate from smartphones.

On the other hand, the shipment volume of lens interchangeable camera decrease only about 10% from previous year depneding on increaseing the shipment volume of mirrorless camera. The market size of digicam was shrinking from 2010, but it has bottomed out in recent years. Prosumer models selling for around 100 thousand yen stops this market's shrinking.

The shipment volume of film camera by Japanese camera manufacturers was increasing from 1977, that peaked at about 36 million units in 1997. A degital camera appeared in 1999, the shipment volume of it increased rapidly instead of film camera. That has increased tenfold for ten years, and peaked at about 121 million units in 2010. However, that was decreasing after 2010 because of smartphone. The shipment volume of camera now is smaller than the peak shipment volume of film camera.

Japanese camera manufacturers account for over 80% of the camera market in the world. They make camera for export which account for about 80% of their total shipment volume, and another is for domestic market. It would be no exaggeration to say that they decide whether the camera market successfully grows from now on. Nowadays, it is shriking not only in Europe and USA but also emerging countries in asia from 2012. It is a key for Japanese camera manufacuturers that they can expand and develop a camera market in Africa and South America or not.

The situation differs considerably between Japanese digicam manufacturers focus on mirrorless camera or not. A mirrorless camera decide the sales and profit of them. Sony and FUJIFILM focus on mirrorless cameras for several years plan to keep the same sales volume of digicam as it in the previous year. Olympus also plan to decrease the sales volume of digicam, and increase the sales volume of mirrorless camera instead of compact digicam in 2017.

About the world's share of digicam market, Canon has the top share of this market. It accounts for about 35% of this market. Nikon has the second share, Sony has the third share of this market. The difference between Canon's share and Nikon's share is quite samll before 2008, but that was increasing. About the share of lens interchangeable camera market, Canon also has the top share of this market. Nikon also has the second share, Sony has the third share.

Canon's EOS camera series are very popular in the world. Though Canon delayed to sell the mirrorless camera, but EOS M series which is the first mirrorless camera series of Canon is acquiring the share of mirrorless camera market now. Sony, Panasonic and Olympus dominate mirrorless camera market before EOS M appered. Canon strengthen the sale activity by new product of EOS series. It started selling EOS M6 and EOS M100 in 2017.

Nikon's COOLPIX series and D series are also popular. The top-seller of Nikon is a single-lens reflex camera, mirrorless camera is a key for Nikon to boost its business. Sony is well known for Cyber-shot series and α series. Sony fromed a business alliance with Olympus to strengthen selling mirrorless cameras. Olympus' PEN series is very popular for women because of its shape. FUJIFILM focus on prosumer models X series selling for around 100 thousand yen.

Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus and FUJIFILM are listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Foreign investors can invest in them on NYSE by ADR(American Depositary Receipt). In addition, they can do them through many ETFs, MAXIS Nikkei 225 ETF(NKY), iShares MSCI Japan ETF(EWJ), Wisdomtree Japan Hedged ETF(DXJ) and more.