Canon India looks to stabilise 50 pc share in DSLRs by year-end

Canon India, which has earmarked a Rs 120 crore marketing budget for 2014, is eyeing a stable 50 per cent market share in the DSLR category by year-end. Currently, the company claims to enjoy a fluctuating market share of between 48 and 49 per cent. Towards this end, the brand spent Rs 20 crore in the second half of 2013 towards marketing its DSLR products in India.

 

According to Andrew Koh, senior director - image communication products, Canon India, DSLR accounts for 70 per cent of the camera category, and this is expected to increase by 20 per cent by 2016. Canon’s DSLR range starts from Rs 28,995.

 

Speaking with Campaign India, Koh said that given the lower price point (than earlier), the recent shift in marketing focus would pay off. He elaborated, “There has been a shift in the marketing focus. We used to spend on advertising for compact cameras. From second half last year, we made conscious decision to shift marketing focus to digital SLR, and it will carry on the same thing this year. We realise that is where the growth is and the potential for growth is.”

 

With the new campaign 'Everyone can with a Canon', the brand is planning to target a new consumer segment of women and young mothers. “Everybody's perception is that DSLR is used only by professionals. But with the new campaign that we just kicked off, we are reaching out to a wider audience. We are trying to say that everyone can own a DSLR and use it. We are especially targeting young mothers and women,” Koh said.

 

While the current campaign is focussed towards women, going forward, Canon India would focus on students and youth who are starting to show interest in photography, informed Koh.

 

According to the spokesperson, revenues for Canon India in 2013 grew just three per cent across categories. This includes everything from cameras to printers, copiers and more. However, things are looking bright when it comes to the DSLR category. He explained, “DSLR's revenues grew by 25 per cent last year, and we expect it to reach 30 per cent this year.”

 

The group as a whole expects to get back to double-digit growth in the country. The marketing budget, hence, has been raised by 25 per cent than the last year.

 

On rising competition in the digital SLR category, Koh said, “We are looking at expanding the overall pie for the DSLR category. It is not only an issue of defeating our competitors. We believe that with our new initiatives, we will help grow the photography market and in turn, we will grow together.” But he is quick to add, “Of course, we expect ourselves to do better than the competitors. We are looking to get half of the market share for DSLR this year and we are on track so far. We want the market to grow at the same time too. It is a growing market with lots of potential.”

 

Among initiatives, Canon India is looking to develop its EOS Academies to promote photography, set up more Canon authorised centres to reach out to people, and organise photo walks and photography workshops. Also in focus is opening exclusive brand retail stores, Canon Image Square. After inaugurating 50 stores in 2011, Canon added 43 in 2012. Currently, there are 110 Canon Image Squares across India and plans are to add 100 more by 2017.