Canon to shift focus, vows more investment in China

Japanese firm seeking growth in various sectors as camera biz shows downtrend

Japanese tech giant Canon Inc is doubling down on medical equipment, semiconductors, commercial printing, security surveillance and other emerging segments expected to become an important engine to drive the company's business growth.

Howard Ozawa, president and chief executive officer of Canon China, said the closure of its production lines in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, which mainly produces compact digital cameras or nonreplaceable lens cameras, does not mean Canon will exit the Chinese market. On the contrary, the company will continue to increase its investment in China.

Ozawa said all of the employees of Canon's Zhuhai factory have already signed termination of labor contracts, and the plant is expected to be officially shut down by the end of June.

He said the popularity of smartphones had an impact on the miniature digital camera market, and the COVID-19 pandemic has sharply reduced consumer demand for low-end cameras. Along with the global shortage of semiconductor chips, Canon had to close its factory in Zhuhai.

However, Canon's digital cameras with interchangeable lenses are gaining traction with consumers. "The shortage of chips will exist in the first half of this year, but the situation is likely to ease in the second half of 2022," Ozawa said.

Founded in 1990, the Zhuhai plant produced 12.29 million units of lenses, 1.03 million units of digital cameras and 94,000 units of video cameras by the end of 2020, and it had 1,317 employees, the company said.

Canon attaches great importance to the Chinese market and aims for it to become No 1 in terms of sales within the whole group by 2035, Ozawa said, adding the company will continue to expand its presence in the business-to-business or B2B segment and strengthen its cooperation with its Chinese partners.

It will also speed up its localization push and launch tailor-made products and solutions in accordance with the requirements of the Chinese market.