15 June 2006
Dubai: Electronics company Casio is banking on the UAE release of its new 10 mega pixel camera to help shed its image as purely a manufacturer of watches and calculators. The Japanese company brought the world's first digital consumer camera onto the market in 1995, but has since lost acres of ground to rivals Canon and Sony.
It is hoping strong sales of its new EX-Z1000 digital camera, the world's first 10 megapixel zoom camera, will boost its market share to 10 per cent of the 300,000 digital cameras sold annually in the UAE by the end of the year.
Currently, the company's local digital camera market share stands at around 5 per cent and lags behind market leaders Sony, Canon and Nikon.
"Most people in the Middle East think Casio is a brand for calculators and timepieces and does not produce digital cameras," admitted Yoshiharu Tsukahara, Casio Computer Co's UAE-based marketing manager, speaking at yesterday's Dubai launch. "But this is an incorrect belief."
He said Casio's limited advertising and marketing budget compared to the likes of Canon has lost them considerable ground in the optics sector. A lack of consumer information on digital camera specifications has led the UAE population to place their trust in brand image and big budget adverts, confounding Casio's position.
Currently Casio enjoys a healthy share of the digital camera market in Japan and Hong Kong, where it often ranks second to Canon, and also performs well in Germany. But it ranks poorly in the United States and is placed fifth among camera makers in the Singapore market.
Casio still relies on its sales of electric dictionaries, calculators and wrist watches, but sees optics, televisions and mobile phones as expanding areas of business.
Casio announced the launch of the EX-Z1000 in conjunction with its Dubai-based partners Abba Electronics LLC, a member of the Al Abbas Group. The camera has been priced at Dh1,599.
By Robert Ditcham
Gulf News 2006. All rights reserved.
