Hiroyuki Muto, sales and marketing director of Panasonic Siew Sales (Thailand), shows off the latest model of the Lumix digital still camera at a media conference yesterday.

The digital-camera market will be hotly competitive this year, as two major Japanese challengers have set an ambitious target to challenge the market leader, ignoring the overall sluggish economy which could pull down purchasing power.

Both Canon and Panasonic, ranked second and fourth, respectively, will allocate a combined marketing budget of nearly Bt1 billion to gain shares from Sony, the market leader in Thailand with a 24-per-cent share.

Buoying their confidence is the arrival of summer and a 15-per-cent drop in retail prices, which should stimulate demand both in first and replacement markets.

Canon an-nounced yesterday that famous model and actress Paula Taylor would be

its first Thai presenter on a TV commercial entitled "My Image, My Canon" aired from today onwards.

Hisahiro Minokawa, president and CEO of Canon Marketing (Thailand), said the company would spend almost Bt500 million this year as a marketing and advertising budget for its digital still cameras. Bt100 million would be spent on its summer campaign and product launch.

"We expect to significantly increase our market share in the local digital still camera market from the current 16 per cent and number two ranking to more than 25 per cent by the end of this year, which will make us first in the market," said Minokawa, adding that the total demand for digital still cameras this year was expected to reach 850,000 units, up by 15 per cent over last year.

More than 200,000 Canon digital still cameras are expected to be sold this year. Canon yesterday also launched its IXUS digital still cameras: IXUS 75 and IXUS 70.

Minokawa said Canon had already beaten Sony to the market-leader

position in many countries, including Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Panasonic yesterday also announced its ambition to improve its positioning in the market.

Hiroyuki Muto, sales and marketing director of Panasonic Siew Sales (Thailand), said that Panasonic was now in fourth place in the digital still camera market, following Sony, Canon and Fuji.

"We expect to achieve our sales target of 100,000 cameras this year. The company aims to increase its share in the local digital still camera market from the current

8 per cent and fourth-place ranking to more than 12 per cent by the end of this year to be second in the market," said Muto.

"We have set our ambition to become the market leader in Thailand in the next four years and at that time we will have a market share of between 30 and 35 per cent."

Muto said that Panasonic would allocate a huge marketing budget of Bt300 million this year to promote the sales of its digital still cameras.

"Panasonic realises that digital still cameras are a business with strong growth potential. We are also quite confident in ourselves to become the market leader," said Muto.

Muto said that Panasonic had already beaten Sony in Japan, Australia and some European markets.

Panasonic Siew Sales yesterday launched nine new digital still camera models under its Lumix series.

Kwanchai Rungfapaisarn

The Nation