For the United States-based imaging major Kodak, India has become the largest market for cameras, bigger than China and the US.
The multinational has sold 4 million cameras in India in the last five years, and aims to sell another 2 million in the next year. But China is catching up, with sales barely 5 per cent less than in India.
Richard Fleming, Kodak's business manager for southwest Asia (photography group), told Business Standard: "The growth potential in India is phenomenal as the demand is not met by any other manufacturer. Our study shows that around 90 per cent of Indians do not own a camera. Globally, in 2003, Kodak will be selling the largest number of cameras in India."
Fleming said India now led China, Mexico, Russia, the US and Brazil in terms of the company's camera sales globally.
Kodak India, with its camera manufacturing unit in Bangalore, is also the global hub for the parent company, catering to several international markets.
"Our strategy in India is to introduce new consumers to photography at a faster rate. While pricing is the key element in our plans, a camera should not be sold below a certain price point," Fleming said.
The company will be investing around $1 million in promotional, research and development activities in India in the current year.
The Rs 800 crore (Rs 8 billion) Kodak India has a network of over 700 distributors, while Kodak products are available in over 50,000 outlets spread over 350 towns across the country.
Apart from cameras, the company's business portfolio includes photographic products like colour negative films, photographic paper, photo developing chemicals and other photography equipment.
The consumer imaging division is the company's largest revenue contributor. The other divisions include the digital and applied imaging business unit and the health imaging and professional motion imaging unit.
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