Nikon entered the action camera market in 2016 but the latest financial reports indicate the cameras aren’t selling as well as expected.
In the third quarter results published earlier this week, the company shared an increase in sales compared to the previous third quarter by about three percent but the sales from the first three quarters of the previous year fell in 2017 by about eight percent compared to the same period last year.
The company’s net income also saw big drops, attributed to one-time restructuring costs. Nikon announced in November they would be restructuring in an attempt to adjust to the changing market while still in a financially strong position. That restructuring, which includes a voluntary retirement plan for more than 1,000 employees, comes with a number of up front costs.
But along with the latest numbers, Nikon is also anticipating a decline in sales for the fourth quarter. The company expects lower sales because of both a market slowdown for their measuring instruments and industrial microscopes and slow sales in their consumer imaging products. According to the presentation materials, Nikon said the sales of the action cameras, the Keymission line announced in 2016, were slow and that the company would be reassessing both its research and development as well as its sales strategy.
The Keymission line initially launched with the company’s first 360-degree camera but also includes a more traditional 170-degree wide angle camera and a sort of odd lifelogging 80-degree angle camera.
The full third-quarter financials and comments on the sales of the Keymission line come just after the company announced the DL line would never make it to market. The lineup, though it consisted of advanced compacts with more advanced features than the typical point-and-shoot camera, was axed because of the changing market. Nikon says that, during the restructuring process, they are redirecting their focus to high-end cameras — with the cancellation of the semi-advanced DL line, it is safe to assume that the high-end focus largely means interchangeable lens cameras.
