Nikon makes entry into Nigeria’s camera market

Global camera manufacturer, Nikon, has officially established its presence in Nigeria following the introduction of the camera range  recently.

The company said at a forum in Lagos last week, that one of its aims was to tackle the grey market influence on its cameras in the country.It lamented that most Nikon cameras sold in Nigeria prior to now were through informal channels and grey marketers.

Managing Director, New Creation Worldwide Link Nigeria Limited, Nikon’s distributor in Nigeria,  Kish Primalani, said the company would price the cameras competitively to curb grey market activities. “As the managing director, I don’t allow my employees to walk the ground. I walk the ground myself and one of the things I want to do is to price our Nikon cameras competitively so that those importing grey cameras will stop,” he said.

According to him, the potential for DSL professional cameras in Nigeria and the African market in general is huge. Prior to entering the Nigerian market, the Regional Sales Manager, Nikon Middle East FZE,  Narendra Menon, said the Original Equipment Manufacturer had no  organised African representation, no stock supplies, had no brand building initiatives and very less market share .However, since it entered the Nigerian market in May 2012, Menon said the company’s main objectives had been  to offer its customers faster response, accessibility and credibility in service delivery.

          

The company said it had decided to focus on the Nigerian market because there were many pointers to the fact that it would become the biggest market in Africa. On his part, Area Manager, Nikon Middle East and Africa,  Rohit Sawhney, said consumers in the country would enjoy a  one year warranty and free service warranty for all its cameras “We are here to work with customers to  achieve the number one position in Nigeria,” he said.

Speaking on  the country’s huge smartphone penetration, Sawhney said the  presence of smartphones with inbuilt cameras would  not affect the camera market in anyway.He said study had showed that camera sale increased by 25 per cent in the United States despite the rise of the smartphone.