PMA February 2010 : Page 34Business & Marketing as high-potential categories for growth: Medical Systems/Life Sciences, Highly Functional Materials, Graphic Arts, Docu- ment Solutions, and Optical Devices. The “+1” is the digital imaging business, includ- ing products and services such as digital cameras, digital printing, and photo books. We leveraged the success of film to build the “5,” and today we are leveraging the “5” to reinvent the photo imaging business. The economy may be difficult; but Fujifilm is lucky, because we began to expand into these new areas long ago. This has enabled us to pursue our idea of what photo imaging will be in the future. Photography is who we are. In the United States, we have built a strong brand name during the last 40 years on our reputation in photo imaging. We have a household name people trust for quality. All our newer businesses take advantage of that asset. Success in all our businesses makes it possible for us to continue to innovate and to invest in new products and services. This is an advantage we bring to our retail, commercial, and professional photo imaging customers as well. The economy may have slowed us down this year, but we remain committed to the +1 – and the other 5, too! We are committed to the culture of photography. PMA: Fujifilm has a long history of “green” initiatives. Recently, the Greenwood facility has begun using methane from a landfill to power the plant and reduce greenhouse emissions. Can you discuss other ways the company is reducing the impact on the environment? Jenkins: We have earned an excellent reputation as a company that has been good for the environment as long as there has been a Fujifilm. A lot of that has to do with living on an island and having limited resources. A major focus for Fujifilm has been on energy consumption. Particularly notable measures include implementing 34 PMA — February 2010 — www.pmai.org a transformation in the type of energy used at major Fujifilm production plants, moving away from oil toward natural gas, landfill gas, and wind energy, which are all significantly reducing CO2 emissions for the company globally. We have introduced an initiative here, called Fujifilm Unplugged, to engage our employees in achieving our goals. Globally, we are working toward our 10-year target to reduce the energy con- sumption of our manufacturing facilities with large emissions – 10 percent by 2010. In the United States, we are committed to reducing energy consumption 15 per- cent by 2011. This will reduce our GHG emissions by 29,360 metric tons of CO2 equivalent annually, which is approximate- ly the same amount of GHG emissions produced annually by 2,351 households or 4,878 passenger cars. This will involve all Fujifilm facilities in the United States – manufacturing, distribution, and offices. Fujifilm Sericol is a leading supplier of UV-cured inks, which are free of harmful compounds and consume less energy in the printing process. We’ve also developed new digital inks having no hazardous air pollutants, and allowing printers to emit lower amounts of harmful compounds. Given the trends toward inkjet printing, we think this technology will give us a strong foundation for future growth and competitive advantage among retailers. PMA: The fundamental ways consumers use images to share their memories have been uprooted. What is Fujifilm doing to lend stability to retailers and partners in this time? What are the new opportunities they may be missing? Almeida: There is no question film usage has declined dramatically since 2003, and we’ll continue to see a decline. The doubly bad news is, while every film consumer had to have their prints made to see what was on the film, today they get to choose what to print – and they are printing far less. The good news for retailers is consumers are taking more pictures. It’s certainly not the end of the industry, it’s a major reinvention. There is some really great news in the data we’ve been collecting. First, we see lots of new moms coming into the marketplace in the next three years … a total of 54 million new moms from the Millennials, Gen-Xers, and even a few Baby Boomers. This influx of our core picture taking segment is good for photography and good for retailers. The second bit of good news is photo- finishing is not going away, it’s changing. The total photo opportunity for retailers is actually growing and, we believe, has con- siderable growth potential. The photofin- ishing business peaked around 2003, with a value of $8.0 billion from film and digital prints. This same segment of film and digital prints will be only $3.2 billion by 2012, so it’s declining pretty steeply. At the same time, the total addressable market for a retailer in the photo category is growing, because it’s changing. Photo books have been a huge focus at the PMA show the last several years. They continue to grow; but there are other products beyond that: gifts, calendars, banners, greeting cards, and customized print products resulting in an addressable market size of $7.8 billion. We don’t see a sunset industry; we see a further reinvention of the industry. Looking back 25 years ago, there were no minilabs in the market. You took your film to the drugstore, and it came back 7 days later. The minilab came in, and there was this incredible resurgence of photography. The retailers who are addressing this expanded market – making banners, posters, mugs, pillows, etc. – are beginning to reap those rewards. We believe there needs to be a transformation from a photo processing department to a personal publishing center. Why shouldn’t this same retailer making folded cards also produce invitations, custom stationery, and business cards? Publication List |
