Canon domination of North American market

I'm astounded at Canon's domination of the camera/lens market in North America. I have a feeling it's probably a similar situation in the rest of the world.

I don't have the figures, but I'm sure that some out there, will.

No doubt that Canon has the an excellent line of consumer and professional equipment on offer and also advertise very well.

Reminds me of the domination GM had in the North American car market for so long...50 % +.

Things change though and a successful company can never rest on their laurels.

Do you see Canon continuing their domination in the consumer DSLR and P+S...also pro DSLR market in years to come...or do you see Nikon or Sony, maybe Panasonic take over in 5-10-15 years.

I recall reading that a CEO of a camera company predicted they would be # 4 next year...then # 3 the year after. Can't recall the company...wasn't Sony though.

What's you view of the future for Canon and future of the photography market (World, North America) in general.

Canon has actually been losing ground to Nikon and Sony in DSLRs for the last couple of years. I don't know about the total digital camera market in NA, though.

Tell me then - if what you are saying is true, why do Canon run a loyalty programme in the USA and not in Europe?

David

Since the 1960s there has always been strong competition between the big five from Japan,, Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Olympus and Minolta.

Nikon and Canon usually had the market share, with Nikon mostly edging out Canon in the professional market.

These swings and round-abouts will continue indefinitely.

Woodworker wrote in post #12794893
Tell me then - if what you are saying is true, why do Canon run a loyalty programme in the USA and not in Europe?

i don't understand this question.

I'm told (by a 60+ year old Japanese gentleman I know) that whatever lead Canon has enjoyed in the professional ranks was unknown inside Japan itself. "Back in the day," Canon owned the enthusiast market in Japan but no self-respecting pro would use anything but Nikon.

My understanding is that that imbalance has leveled out over the last couple decades.

I think Canon has been losing a lot of ground in the last couple years. If Canon doesn't get on top of things soon, I think they'll lose market share and Nikon will become #1. Then a few years later, Canon will come back... etc.

A dip in SLR sales percentage is a drop in the bucket to Canon which dominates or has a large share of many markets.

Office Equipment, Broadcast Lenses, Medical Imaging, etc, etc, etc...

Canon is very, very diversified.

Around here it still looks like the top is shared fairly evenly between Canon and Nikon. Sony has been sneaking up behind them, but doesn't look like a real threat at the moment. I've even seen a few pros with Sony gear, which I would never have imagined a few years ago.

On the low end entry level, I believe Canon is falling behind. The 1100D just doesn't look as nice on paper as it's rivals. It also looks like a decent bit of that market has been taken over by 4/3 and bridge cameras.
Sony is gaining ground here as well and to be honest, I completely understand that. If I had to buy a new camera in that price range, I would look to Sony rather than Canon or Nikon.

The threat to low end is the cell phone, where Canon does not play at all. What may happen is the low end will be taken over by 14MP teenie-tiny sensors in future Droids and the like and the upper end of P&S is squeezed by 4/3 and the like. Exciting times to be a product line manager for the PowerShots!

Woodworker wrote in post #12794893
Tell me then - if what you are saying is true, why do Canon run a loyalty programme in the USA and not in Europe?

David

alt4852 wrote in post #12795414
i don't understand this question.

I read that the reason Canon run a loyalty programme in the states is because the competition from Nikon is fiercer there while the trend in Europe is to buy Canon. I'm not saying that's a fact, just that I read it.

David

Woodworker wrote in post #12794893
Tell me then - if what you are saying is true, why do Canon run a loyalty programme in the USA and not in Europe?

David

Look no further than Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They know the violence we're capable of if we don't get "the deal".

Woodworker wrote in post #12797271
I read that the reason Canon run a loyalty programme in the states is because the competition from Nikon is fiercer there while the trend in Europe is to buy Canon. I'm not saying that's a fact, just that I read it.

hmm, i've never heard of that. i always figured it was due to the fact that canon usa gets an obscene amount of refurbished units in their inventory and wants to reduce the high volume.

rick_reno wrote in post #12798692
Look no further than Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They know the violence we're capable of if we don't get "the deal".

tragedy + time = humor

that being said..

too soon, dude. too soon.

rick_reno wrote in post #12798692
Look no further than Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They know the violence we're capable of if we don't get "the deal".

In extremely poor taste.

Here's a search and a few of the items that can be clicked there:

Nikon tops Canon in Japan digital SLR sales

Nikon Takes Over Canon for #1 DSLR Sales Postion

Sony, Nikon Narrow Gap to Canon With New Digital Camera Models

Nikon and Sony are Catching up to Canon in Sales