Cameras

Discount Store News, Oct 20, 1997

When shopping for a camera at their discount store of choice, consumers are on the lookout for brands and shy away from private label or store brands. In fact, these consumers were the most resistant (32%) to buying a non-branded product of all 26 of the categories surveyed.

The camera category has undergone many changes over the past 18 months since the arrival of the Advanced Photo System. The new format was met with much trepidation, even as it celebrated its first anniversary last April. Things have improved somewhat over the past six months as industry leaders like Kodak and Fuji have integrated aggressive advertising programs to tout the features of the new system. Each has also created point-of-sale materials and displays to provide heightened retailer and consumer education at the store level.

It will be interesting to note when, if at all, any of the APS brands like Kodak's Advantix or Fuji's SmartFilm make the list. For the time being, there has been little brand diversification. The only exception among retailers is Yashica, which replaced Sony, a brand that has been on and off the list over the past five years. Interestingly, Sony re-emerged as a favored brand with consumers after a one-year hiatus; and Pentax rejoined the list after a three-year absence.

Kodak once again claimed the top spot among retailers and consumers. The brand only faltered in 1995 when Canon displaced Kodak as the preferred brand with consumers. This year, Kodak also increased its margin over No. 2 Canon with both groups, but particularly with retailers, where it gained 11 percentage points thanks to strong mentions by Kmart and Wal-Mart retailers. Kodak received a lukewarm reception from Target managers, with less than 50% naming it a top performing brand.

Canon, often more expensive than Kodak, was the preferred brand among Target respondents with 58% naming it a top performer. It was also a preferred brand of Target shoppers with 31% of mentions. Vivitar was also a favorite among Target respondents, garnering 12.9% of mentions, and Target shoppers, with 12% calling it a preferred brand.

All this attention enabled both Kodak and Canon to achieve Power Brand status, leaving others--Fuji, Minolta, Polaroid and Scotch/3M--behind as the threesome achieved near Power Brand status. The reason: Fuji, Minolta and Polaroid were strong with retailers but weak with consumers.

This very likely could change over the next 12 months as the three manufacturers haven't yet realized the full potential of new APS product introductions made earlier this year. Fuji is putting lots of muscle behind its Endeavor and SmartFilm APS lines; Minolta has its Xtreem line of APS cameras, which have been getting good word of mouth; and Polaroid made its first ever reach into "conventional" photography with the introduction of economically priced focus free and autofocus APS cameras.

Consumers in all stages of life favored Kodak, Canon and Polaroid, the top three brands. Kodak was especially strong with Busters and Empty Nesters, with 52% and 48% of mentions, respectively. Empty Nesters and Boomers, typically with more disposable income, were drawn to Canon, known for upgraded features and functions; Polaroid caught the attention of Busters and Boomers but scored a zero with Empty Nesters.

Regionally, Kodak and Polaroid were the favorites in the Northeast, while Canon was strong in the North Central region, and Minolta lassoed the Western vote.

Discounters

Brand                   1997      1996

Kodak                   66%       55%
Canon                   48        40
Minolta                 31        20
Polaroid                26        21
Fuji                    10        13
Pentax                   9         8
Vivitar                  8         5
Nikon                    7         7
Olympus                  4        10
Yashica                  3        --
Discount Store Shoppers

Brand                   1997      1996

Kodak                   39%       31%
Canon                   24        23
Polaroid                 7         8
Duracell                 7         7
Olympus                  7         5
Vivitar                  7         4
Minolta                  5        10
Pentax                   4        --
Fuji                     3         5
Eveready                 3        11