PetaPixel has written at length about how impressive it is that Nikon was able to turn its business around. From teetering on the brink to its now soaring success, the last five years have been an incredible journey for the company. Speaking to PetaPixel, Nikon attributes its phoenix-like revival to three key moments.
“The major turning point of our mirrorless camera system can be narrowed to three items: one, the Z9 release on December, 2021, two the Zfc and Zf, those unique product launches, and third is lens variety,” Hiroyuki Ikegami, Senior Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Imaging Business Unit at Nikon, tells PetaPixel during an exclusive interview at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show earlier this month.
“So Z9 brought the world’s first features to the market such as the shutterless design and blackout-free shooting which were really disruptive and brought functional value [to photographers]. The Zfc and Zf offer more like emotional value and with heritage-inspired design, which camera fans love,” Ikegami adds.
“As far as lens variety, we really rapidly expanded the lens lineup. Now we have 46 lenses which, in six years, means about seven lenses per year. That is actually remarkable and gives really flexible choices to end users. These are the three key drivers for our growth.”
Nikon is keeping its foot on the gas when it comes to lens development.
“We aim to expand our lens lineup that makes the most use of the mount advantages that fulfill diverse needs and the shooting purposes of a wide range of customers. And in terms of future expansion, our goal is to expand the number of lenses to more than 50 by the end of this fiscal year. That’s the target,” Takashi Aihara, Department Manager, UX Planning, Marketing Sector, Imaging Business Unit at Nikon, says. The end of the 2025 fiscal year would be March 31, 2026.
Nikon’s explanations show that it wasn’t one choice that turned the company’s fortunes around, even though it might seem like that from the outside looking in. Yes, the Z9 was a major reason for the Nikon’s current upward trajectory but while that was a major comeback story, it’s only one part of the equation. In support of Z Mount, it stayed the course by creating more and better lenses. It’s also notable that the company says that the Zfc and Zf were also important factors in its success considering how many competitors have chosen to stay away from vintage-styled cameras altogether.
If it all had to be narrowed to one factor, Nikon says that it would probably be its focus to stay the course, even when the camera market looked shaky. That paid off.
“The key point is that these successes came about because we concentrated our investment of management resources on the Z system. We always think customer first, customer-centric, which makes our products stronger,” Ikegami says.
Nikon isn’t content to rest on its laurels. Looking ahead, it sees immense possibilities in the filmmaking and video creator market.
“As far as the impact of RED, we foresee growth in the video market and cinema market, and especially the creator segment which is really rapidly growing. RED’s strong fanbase and core competencies in this market are really significant. This collaboration and the work between Nikon and RED is really expected to produce synergistic effects. And again, please stay tuned!”
Image credits: Nikon
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