Necessity often is called the mother and invention. When it comes to Sigma’s potential entry into the Canon and Nikon mirrorless lens market, it is just that as the CEO of the company, Kazuto Yamaki, recently told ICAN Institute in an interview.
What has brought a sudden change of heart?
On the future development of Nikon and Canon mirrorless lenses:
“It’s true that the photography market has been systematically shrinking for years – in keeping with more and more people simply using smartphones to make photos and videos. Less cameras sold also means less potential customers interested in buying a lens, which is why our short‑term strategy indeed involves a possibility of introducing lenses with new mounts – to such photography systems as Nikon Z or Canon EOS R. So far, however, the number of orders for our lenses is still above our manufacturing capacities, and especially the capabilities of our R&D department.”
As for why Sigma is pursuing new markets, including even the prospect of smartphone lenses, it all has to do with keeping people working and in a job. In fact, Yamaki even acknowledges the declining consumer camera market and the challenges that presents.
“Yes, because once again we come back here to the issue of responsibility for our employees. In order to maintain these employment levels, we need to ensure a certain level of revenues, which in turn is a result of sales volume. Thus, when, at some point, the sales volume for lenses falls below a certain figure, we will have to look for an opportunity to introduce to our offering products or services aimed at some entirely new market. Besides, we already have a special team at SIGMA dedicated to seeking new growth avenues for our business and new business opportunities. It’s not that simple if we assume that we want to maintain our production in Japan, as it automatically limits us to high‑quality products – and sold at quite high prices. Meanwhile, lenses for smartphones or cars are usually first of all cheap. This is why in our case producing them does not seem profitable.”
You can read the full interview here at this link.
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