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*April 4, 2006 - *Nikon wants to account for 40 percent of the DSLRs sold in coming years, and its website summary of mid-year reports to investors say the company will make "new types of digital SLR products" to expand the market.
The report notes that "electric equipment manufacturers" are entering the DSLR market – they would be Sony, Panasonic and Samsung – and that Nikon will have to adapt to a new, more competitive environment. Nikon also says that higher oil prices in the U.S. and Christmas sales promotions will probably mean that the second half of the year will be less profitable than the first.
The report says that Nikon sold more "high end" DSLRs than expected. The mid-year point that the report refers to is the end of September, 2005, before the D200 was introduced, so it explains the term "high end" with the phrase, "such as the D2X and D70s." Apparently, "high end" means "not the D50."
DSLRs accounted for 35 percent of Nikon imaging product sales as of September 2005, swallowing up not only film cameras, but out-pacing compact cameras as well. The growth in DSLRs was huge two years ago – DSLRs were 14 percent of the company's imaging business by March 2004, and 27 percent by March 2005.