GfK Imaging Summit 2009 - Press Releases

30 November 2009
International, Imaging / Photo

The title of the Conference says it all: "Imaging is your future – let's do it – explore tomorrow's imaging world". The event which is held every two years was jointly organized by three of the leading organizations in the German imaging industry.

They are GfK Retail and Technology, the major market research company that specializes in global imaging business, Koelnmesse, the organizers of photokina, and the Photoindustrie-Verband the German Imaging Industry Association.

The purpose of this year's event was to highlight the opportunities that there are in the imaging market even in the crisis year of 2009, while not denying that there are plenty of areas which have indeed been badly hit.

"Looking at the categories and products that performed well in 2009, few can be linked to the traditional decade-long tenets of the electronics business: more, faster, better, cheaper" remarked Pascal Bollon, GfK's London based Global Director, Information Technology.

He pointed out that in many areas product saturation has been reached and that many technical developments are not sufficient to encourage the consumer to think of replacing existing products. Nevertheless, Bollon argued, interest and usage of consumer electronic products remains at a high level and this can be seen by continued high levels of sales of consumables such as ink cartridges.

But there are plenty of areas Bollon and others speakers emphasized where growth continued at a rapid rate.

SLR trends look good and better than expected on compacts

They include D-SLRS where the market is continuing to grow in many areas, with a remarkable situation in Switzerland. Growth in the D-SLR market was also to be found in Asia. Similar trends are also visible in the television market, even though saturation there is virtually complete.

The position in the compact camera market has been less satisfactory with sharp declines in sales almost everywhere. They have been particularly sharp in Eastern Europe where there has been a decline of 40% in value. But even in the market for compact digital cameras there has been one good trend which is visible in most areas of the world.

Sales trends have been best on the expensive cameras which are well equipped with advanced features. This was illustrated in Japan, where the share of 12-megapixel compact cameras rose from 30% in March 2009 to 50% three months later.

In the USA, camera purchasers spend a total of about $1100 at the time of purchase on their camera and on accessories, and nearly 20% of that sum is spent in the six months after the purchase was made.

Dizzying opportunities in photogifts, photobooks and even from kiosks

The market for personalized photo products is expected to grow from $238 million back in 2003 to $5.6 billion in 2012. Shops with 20 kiosks are already quite common in Australia and the 40-kiosk shop is now appearing over the horizon. Speakers at the Summit expressed considerable concern about the future of the specialist retail channel.

On the other hand, the increasing interest in advanced, expensive quality products, which was highlighted in the Conference, suggests that there is still a role and an opportunity for the independent channel. It was also mentioned that accessory sales provides another invaluable lifeline and opportunity for the specialist trade to survive and prosper.

To download this press release in full, as well as other press release material from the event please go to the 2009 Imaging Summit event page.