Kazuto Yamaki, CEO of Sigma, pictured in his company`s plant in Aizu, Japan when we visited in 2015.
The photo industry is recovering from the disruption in global supply chains caused by Chinese shutdown, but with the rest of the world still in crisis, companies are preparing for a major drop in customer demand, especially in the US and Europe. Last week I spoke to Kazuto Yamaki of Sigma to get his take on the ongoing situation worldwide, and on Sigma`s strategy for the next generation of cameras and lenses.
Please note that this interview was conducted remotely, and has been edited for clarity and flow.
Mr. Yamaki, I last spoke to you two weeks ago, which feels like a year ago. What has changed in those two weeks?
Two weeks ago I was mainly concerned about the production system, and the supply chain. We make all of our products in Japan and make most of the parts by ourselves or by Japanese local suppliers, but some parts such as electronics are supplied from China, therefore, I was concerned about the supply of parts. But in fact, up to now we havenīt had a serious problem with that. Some parts have been delayed due to confusion in the supply chain but it hasn`t been serious, and weīve been able to adjust our production planning.
Production and delivery systems in China are starting to normalize
So on the production side, we havenīt had a serious problem. And we donīt expect to have problems in the future, because production and delivery systems in China are starting to normalize.
I was also really concerned about sales in China. At the beginning of March, my worst-case scenario was a halving of sales compared to last year. But in fact our business in China is quite stable, and not too bad, which is a big relief. Sales in China are still doing OK because thereīs a very strong online business. Right now the biggest concern is the market situation in Europe and the USA. I had never imagined such a crisis in Europe and America.
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