Sony to Boost Production and Sales of Digital
Cameras in China
In a sign of the growing importance of China's consumer
market, Sony will produce and launch its first 3-megapixel
consumer model camcorder, the DCR-PC330E, in China this
November, before launching it in other global markets.
Sony said that it plans to ramp up output of digital
cameras to 500,000 units, and rack up sales of US$4 billion
a year in the China market. The company said that the
ten-fold increase in production was in response to a sharp
increase in demand for digital cameras in China. Sony
China's chairman, Hiroshi Ueda, said that the company
was aiming at annual sales of US$4 billion annually by
2005, and then doubling that figure to US$8 billion by
2008. Significantly, the Beijing Olympics will be held
in 2008.
Sony's annual sales in 2002 were US$1 billion, and the
company was forced into a major restructuring as faltering
sales in consumer electronics saw profits plunge 98 percent
in June to US$9.3 million.
The digital camera market in China is dominated by Sony,
Canon and Fuji Photo, which hold 75-80 percent of the
market, and target high-end customers with 3 to 7 megapixel
digital cameras. Some Chinese makers sell their own digital
cameras under their own local brands, but they are not
nearly as popular as the Japanese brands.
This year, Sony has launched seven new digital camera
models, eight digital video products and seven new models
of its VAIO notebook cameras in China this year. The company
claims to have a 25 percent market share of digital cameras
and 50 percent share in the digital video products market.
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