Fujifilm's range of instax instant cameras surge sales and land the title of Japan's second best-selling camera brand
(Image credit: Fujifilm)
A market share report curated by the BCN sales database has revealed that Fujifilm's Japanese sales have skyrocketed as of late, surpassing Sony in percentage of market shares and taking second place as the best-selling camera brand in the Japanese digital camera market, with Canon continuing to claim the overall top spot.
The products pushing Fujifilm up the rankings appear to be its Instax range of instant cameras, initially increasing the market share to 15.1% in November 2021, surpassing Nikon for the first time ever. In December 2021, the market share for Fujifilm surged even further to 21.5%, overtaking Sony and rising to 2nd place.
Japanese body BCN Retail accumulates data that accounts for approximately 40% of Japan's sales market – including the nation's mass home electronics retailers and online shops. The BCN Ranking reports that (via FujiRumors) this is the first time in 19 years that Fujifilm has been able to grab itself the second place spot.
Sales data revealed that the Fujifilm instax mini LiPlay and instax mini Evo products are responsible for the main increase in market share, despite not fitting the category of being digital cameras. The instax mini Evo arrived in Japanese stores on 03 December 2021 (available on 1st February 2022 in other regions) and in the same month, the digital camera market's share of unit sales by model in Japan was 10.7%, the top spot at this time.
The Fujifilm FinePix XP140 compact digital camera was also featured among the data, with the translated report from BCN Retail suggesting that the compact and instax camera range accounted for roughly 70% to 80% of the sales volume composition ratio of Fujifilm digital cameras, as opposed to SLR or mirrorless types.
It's interesting to consider that instant cameras may be on the rise, though this is understandable when considering that a younger demographic of photographers and students enjoy the printing features that the instax cameras offer.
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It looks like this year is shaping up to be a great one for Fujifilm, or off to a great start at least. Check out our buying guides to find the best instant cameras on the market right now and join the trend in snapping instant images.
A staff writer for Digital Camera World, Beth has an extensive background in various elements of technology with five years of experience working as a tester and sales assistant for CeX. After completing a degree in Music Journalism, followed by obtaining a Master's degree in Photography awarded by the University of Brighton, she spends her time outside of DCW as a freelance photographer specialising in live music events and band press shots under the alias 'bethshootsbands'.
