Nikon closes compact camera factory in China

Last October 30, Nikon announced that it will be shutting down the digital camera factory situated in Jiangsu Province, China. The reason behind it? The rise of the smartphones that impacted the compact digital camera market.

The Decision Behind the Closure

According to Nikon, the decision was made by the board of directors during its meeting.

Nikon’s subsidiary, Nikon Imaging (China), which was formed last 2002 in Wuxi City, Jiangsu, China will be facing its last days as it is scheduled for shutting down. This factory is responsible for the manufacturing of digital cameras and DLSR lenses and houses 2,285 workers.

Nikon explained that the decision to finally close the plant was because of the smartphones that are overshadowed the compact camera business.

“In recent years […] due to the rise of smartphones, the compact digital camera market has been shrinking rapidly, leading to a significant decrease in operating rate at [Nikon Imaging (China)] and creating a difficult business environment.”

Shift of Focus

Other than the manufacturing factory in China, Nikon also has facilities located in Japan and Thailand which are manufacturing digital camera equipment.

Due to the improvement of smartphones which can take camera-quality photos, the compact camera business is slowly coming to its death.

The Nikkei Asian Review reported that:

“The global market for compact digital cameras has shrunk to a tenth of its peak within the past decade. [Nikon] expects to sell 4.8 million digital cameras overall in the year ending March 2018, down 24%. For the compact segment, sales are projected to drop 28%.”

Nikon is currently making restructuring plans and is planning to focus more on high value-added products such as DLSRs and the rumored full-frame mirrorless camera.

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