Nikon 2009 Annual Report Download - page 16

As the proportion of overseas sales rises, measures to deal
with the strong yen take on increasing importance. Two of
our main measures involve shifting more production to
places like Thailand and China, and greater procurement
of local components. We are developing excellent local
staff, and are capable of the same quality control available
in Japan, which allows us to manufacture products overseas
at a level of quality comparable to that in Japan. We already
design production tools overseas, and as technical standards
rise the trend toward local procurement of components will
strengthen. We will retain our Japanese factories, which will
play a larger role as bases for technological advancement
and improved manufacturing.
Nikon’s Collective Strength
Over the past decade Nikon has continued to improve
its corporate makeup, with a balanced increase to high
dimensions for all corporate functions, including market-
ing, development and design, production, and sales. We
currently employ a structure that allows us to modify
production on a weekly basis to refl ect the latest market
data. When market conditions began to deteriorate in
the fall of 2008, we decided quickly to adjust production
at the end of 2008—making us the fi rst in the industry
to do so—and were one of the fi rst to complete those
adjustments. All of Nikon’s corporate functions operating
simultaneously at high levels provide a true collective
strength that can be leveraged in a short period of time.
Cameras as a Communication Tool
Nikon enjoys a long history as a camera manufacturer, and
has established a powerful corporate brand. We believe
that as cameras enter the digital age, they should not be
merely machines for capturing images, but communica-
tion tools that broaden the connections between people,
including the way images are enjoyed after they are taken.
By providing support for all aspects of photography from
the taking of a picture to its appreciation, including
uploading pictures to websites and allowing them to be
viewed on distinctive output devices, Nikon is creating a
future for itself as a provider of a unique “imaging world.”
Nikon has taken some of the fi rst steps toward realiza-
tion of a distinctive imaging world with unique new
products such as the image storage and sharing site “my
Picturetown,” and the Media Port UP*1 (with “UP” read
as individual letters), a multimedia playback headset
device. Our goal for the future calls for realizing this
vision, and gaining increasing prominence as a company
that provides both the camera hardware and the
imaging services.
Note: 1. Available in Japan only.
Sales Value Ratio by Product
(%)
Years ended March 31
200920082007
Others
25
41
22
12
27
44
22
7
30
43
20
7
Interchange-
able Lens
Digital SLR
Camera
Digital
Compact
Camera
Sales Value Ratio by Region
(%)
Years ended March 31
200920082007
Europe
Americas
Japan
Asia
& Others
32
34
18
16
32
33
17
18
32
36
18
14
Note: The sales value for 2007 and 2008 is on a non-consolidated basis and
for 2009 is on a consolidated basis.
14 Nikon Annual Report 2009