Small growth for photography | IR News

Small growth for photography

Posted Date: 04/03/2013

By Inside Retail

The photographic equipment retailing industry has been affected by tough trading conditions over the past five years, with industry sales expected to post weak annualised growth of just 0.8 per cent.

Industry sales are expected to increase by 0.9 per cent to $768 million in 2012-13. Despite anticipated growth in disposable income and consumer sentiment, industry sales will be hindered by retail heavyweights such as Harvey Norman, Myer and Big W.

According to IbisWorld industry analyst, Claudia Burgio-Ficca, while demand for digital cameras has remained high, the industry as a whole has struggled.

The modest rise in sales over this period has been a result of declines in the average price of cameras, fierce competition from external players such as electrical stores and department stores, and growth in the volume of grey imports of camera products being sought and bought by consumers.

The overall performance of the photographic equipment market has also been driven by trends in real household disposable income, consumer sentiment, advances in product technology and features, and fluctuations in the number of domestic trips taken by Australian consumers.

External players will continue to offer consumers competitive pricing and a broad product range in an attempt to attract a larger share of the industry.

Industry sales will also be under pressure from the online market and grey imports due to the significant cost savings available to consumers.

Goods retailed by the industry may be purchased from a range of other avenues including department stores and domestic appliances stores, via online shopping websites and from resellers of grey imports.

Sales of photographic equipment by industry operators are expected to rise over the next five years.

"Retail demand during this period will be driven by consumers seeking to upgrade their camera and growth in the number of people taking photos and developing an interest in photography," said Burgio-Ficca.

However, the industry is likely to continue facing strong competition from external players seeking a larger share of the photographic equipment market.

Photographic equipment retailing exhibits a medium degree of market share concentration. Concentration levels are estimated to have remained relatively stable over the past five years owing to intense competition from external players and the online market.

Mounting price-based competition from department stores created tough trading conditions for industry players over the past five years and affected the viability of smaller sized operators.

Market share concentration levels for this industry have also been influenced by the growing popularity of grey imports - products purchased from resellers, which are not within the traditional supply chain.

The industry’s major players are Raleru and Ted’s Camera Stores. For more information, visit IbisWorld’s Photographic equipment retailing report in Australia industry page.

Keywords: photographic , equipment, retailing, industry

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