DESPITE the aggressive campaign of smartphone companies of their camera technology, Japanese company Fujifilm said there is still a growing number of consumers who prefer digital and instant cameras in the Visayas.
Ryo Nagaoka, Fujifilm Philippines president, said their products cater to a wide range of clients from hobbyists to millennials.
“Definitely, there is a market because there is a difference in print quality. Our product, the mirrorless camera, is much clearer and it has a high quality,” Nagaoka said.
He said the photography business continues to thrive as they also revived the idea of film photography by introducing their instant camera called Instax.
Instax became popular with the younger generation as it produces a colored photo on the spot.
“The good point of Instax is it’s a very tangible item so, for example, the younger generation gives it as present to friends,” he said.
The company opened its second Philippine office on Capitol Square, Escario St., on Thursday, July 25, 2019.
Its expansion in Cebu is meant to serve the various needs of its clients in the Visayas and Mindanao, especially in camera and endoscopy products as part of its “Never Stop” global branding campaign.
Nelson Perez, division manager of electronic imaging and photo imaging, said the move was to tap the growing regional market.
“The purpose of the service center is primarily to be closer to the consumers. It’s more on customer satisfaction in the local market in the Visayas,” he said.
Aside from its innovative camera line, Fujifilm today has a diversified range of product segments including healthcare, graphics systems, highly functional materials, optical devices, digital imaging and document products.
In the healthcare aspect, Evan Reyes, division manager for medical business, said the company focuses on bringing maintenance and repair services for its endoscopy equipment by hospital partners in Cebu.
“In case the endoscopy unit of the hospitals gets broken, they don’t have to send it abroad,” Reyes said.
Repairs are faster as they also have an onsite engineer in the service center to tend to the maintenance of the unit, Reyes added.
Fujifilm was established in 1934 as a Japanese photographic film manufacturer headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Since then, Fujifilm has continued to evolve and develop leading-edge, proprietary technologies by leveraging its depth of knowledge and expertise derived from photography film into other products and markets. (JOB)