Olympus Cuts Digital Camera Production; Plans To Focus On Higher-End Models

Olympus Optical Co., Tokyo, Japan, revised its digital camera production plan for this year downward to 200,000 units a month from the 300,000 units it had originally planned for, JPEA Photo Electro News reported. The company cited the bearish market in the United States as a major reason for the revision. Olympus exports mainly low-priced models to the United States.

"In short, we are withdrawing from the low-end markets that yield relatively little profits," said a company officer. "While the market is growing for low-priced digital cameras retailed at ¥19,800 to ¥29,800 ( to ), we would rather leave it to other makers including makers of so-called toy digital cameras."

The same company officer added that competition is building among digital camera manufacturers to produce cameras with more powerful zoom lenses and higher pixel counts, and that Olympus plans to focus its efforts on these higher value-added models.