A New Focus for Camera Makers
With Profits Tight in the Point-and-Shoot Market, Manufacturers Carve Out Niche With Higher-End, Mirrorless Models
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The new cameras especially are a hit among Japanese women. Budding female photo enthusiasts in the country are known as Camera Girls, and manufacturers are targeting them with nontraditional camera colors such as "fiery pink" and "sensual brown." The companies also offer accessories such as camera straps and cases meant to appeal to women.
Panasonic, which introduced the market's first mirrorless compact system camera four years ago, said it took lessons it learned then to the U.S. to sell its Lumix cameras.
Initially the company struggled, because it was targeting "everybody," said Shiro Kitajima, the head of Panasonic's consumer marketing in North America. Panasonic found in market research that women wanted to take better pictures without having to carry a bulky camera.
Panasonic targeted women in print and online advertisements on maternity and beauty sites. It also focused on selling the mirrorless cameras in stores frequented more often by women, rather than the male-dominated battleground of camera or electronics shops.
The strategy was a success. Panasonic said typically about 75% of SLR customers are male, but nearly 70% of the buyers of its mirrorless cameras are female.