Nikon’s global restructuring plan has claimed the next victim: The Nikon Store in Brazil. In an announcement on Nov. 7, Nikon Brazil announced that the company’s ecommerce store in Brazil, the Nikon Store, will be closing at the end of the year. Nikon also shared quarterly financial results today, Nov. 7, with an increased overall operating profit.
According to the announcement, translated by Google, the change means that Nikon cameras, lenses, and accessories will no longer be sold in Brazil, since the Nikon Store is the exclusive seller. That doesn’t necessarily mean that gray-market cameras, which don’t have a warranty and carry the risk of being counterfeit, won’t be available, however.
Nikon Brazil says that warranties will still be honored and technical assistance will still be provided to Nikon users in the country.
While the change is part of the global restructuring, the announcement shouldn’t spark panic among Nikon photographers (unless, of course, you live in Brazil). According to recent data, Brazil is considered one of the toughest countries to do business in. Moreover, Brazil is still considered a developing country, which means consumer demand for cameras isn’t as high other regions. Despite this designation, however, a recent economic boom has actually driven prices up, according to the TMF Group, and taxes are also high in the country.
Still in the midst of restructuring, Nikon’s quarterly financial results for the second quarter recorded a lower operating profit by about 4.1 billion yen (which translates to nearly $36 million) for the company overall compared to the same time last year. The Imaging Products division, however, increased profit even in the face of lower revenue by decreasing costs. The company’s semiconductor division also significantly reduced costs, the company says.
That puts the company ahead of initial profit forecasts. The imaging division exceeded expected profits by 2.4 billion yen (about $21 million). While the company is doing better than expected, revenue is still lower than the same time last year, which means that the company is stabilizing not through increased sales, but through decreased costs.
Nikon is also closing a manufacturing plant in China. The restructuring plan, announced a year ago, also led the company to cancel the DL line of compacts before they launched. Nikon says they are focusing on high-end cameras during the restructuring and the company also created a new division to focus on lenses.
