Nikon 2011 Annual Report Download - page 11

Interview with the President 9Annual Report 2011Nikon Corporation
In the Instruments Company, we will continue our efforts from the previous
fiscal year to expand sales of high-end systems for the bioscience field, and in
the industrial instruments field we intend to move into full swing with sales of
our new non-contact, three-dimensional (3D) measurement systems. On a full-
year basis, we are aiming to reach profitability in the Instruments Company.
The basic thinking behind the Medium Term Management Plan is that to
become a corporate group capable of continuous growth, we must transform
our corporate structure into one that is very sturdy and resilient. What
makes corporate growth possible is not the hit products themselves. The
essential prerequisites for sustainable growth are the structures capable of
producing hit products and the systems that facilitate the necessary post-sales
business operations. To realize such structures, the Nikon Group has adopted
four key policies. They are: “Expanding the Nikon brand,” “Creating new
businesses,” “Realizing unified and quick-responding organizations” and
“Strengthening business functions and innovating processes.”
In addition to applying our full energies to realizing these basic policies, in
the fiscal year ending March 2014, we are targeting net sales of ¥1,200,000
million and operating income of ¥135,000 million.
In the Precision Equipment Company, we aim to bolster competitiveness
and expand market share by moving toward early, steady production and
expanded sales of the NSR-S620D. We will also shorten the manufacturing
lead time to six months for our cutting-edge IC steppers and scanners. By
doing so, we will increase out sales opportunities during periods of market
expansion and reduce inventory risk during periods of market contraction.
It will also enable further cost reductions and reinforce profitability. In the
LCD stepper and scanner business, we will pursue product development
that responds to market needs for increasingly high-precision images.
In the Imaging Company, we will focus on raising brand recognition and
strengthening brand image as we strive to become the No. 1 brand in the
imaging field. To achieve this, I believe that a key theme is to pioneer emerging
markets. In the past few years, we have focused on developing our brand in
the BRICs markets, beginning with China, Russia and India. More recently, we
established a sales subsidiary in Brazil. We have also set up a sales subsidiary
in Thailand and intend to focus further on developing other markets.
We have almost completed development of new generation digital cameras
that we began working on several years ago, which will offer customers new
ways to enjoy images. We are currently monitoring world market trends as
we consider the appropriate timing for the launch of these new products.
You have said that
the Medium Term
Management Plan aims
to build a corporate
group capable of
continuously providing
new value. Please
outline your thinking
behind the plan and the
key points you perceive
in the development of
the Group’s businesses.