Smartphones deliver massive blow to Nikon

Nikon Imaging (China) Co. LTD (NIC) has just shut down its digial compact camera factory in China blaming “the rise of smartphones” for the closure. The plant employed roughly 2,500 workers and was based in Wuxi City, Jiangsu. It produced DSLR lenses and compact digital cameras. Another stated reason for the move, says Nikon, is the "rapidly shrinking" compact camera market.

The Nikon announcement, made on 30 October, was unambiguous in pointing the finger squarely at the impact of smartphones for the drastic move.

In recent years [...] due to the rise of smartphones, the compact digital camera market has been shrinking rapidly, leading to a significant decrease in operating rate at NIC and creating a difficult business environment. In this context, the Company conducted rounds of thorough reviews and discussions on the global manufacturing structure optimization measures stated in the company-wide restructuring plan announced by the Company in November 2016. The Company has decided to discontinue operations of NIC.

This move, however, by no means signifies the end of Nikon’s operations in China and the company will continue to focus its energy on their manufacturing and sales subsidiaries in the country.