According to Japan Reuters news, Olympus President Kikukawa plans to have major focus in the DSLR camera business in the future, aims towards a 2 times increase in gross sales within 3 years making 60 Billion Yen. He is proud to have a precise process technology and will launch “a miniature attack in the digital single-lens reflex camera market”. Although currently the two top players are Canon & Nikon, President Kikukawa is confident that he aims towards the industry number 2 position. The Olympus present term (period of March 07) with digital single-lens reflex gross sales possibility approximately 28 Billion Yen. Same Period of March 06 was approximately 21 Billion Yen.

The reasons Olympus strengthening digital single-lens reflex camera business, besides the fact that there is a tendency where the consumer are moving to digital single-lens reflex from the digital camera, there is also increasing popularity among women consumer, which is a growth characteristic of the market.

In the digital single-lens reflex market, although Kyocera and Konica Minolta exited the market, SONY and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (Panasonic), who are stronghold camera manufacturers, enter into the digital single-lens reflex camera market. The companies will compete to increase share of the market and the competition is severe. On the one hand, Olympus plans to invest 45 Billion Yen in plant investment each year for the next 3 years. Plant investment expense of 2006 March period is at 44.4 Billion Yen. In the future, Olympus will continue the investment of the same scale. No large-sized production factory construction is planned.

Website : Olympus targets to become number 2 in the DSLR industry within 3 years (Japanese)