Hideki Ozawa, Chairman of Canon China: Earn money from "Generation Z" in a cool way

Our reporter Suo Hanxue reports from Beijing

China's post-00s "Generation Z" young people have become a new force in camera consumption. They were born in the age of the internet and thought it was cool to have a retro camera.

Hideki Ozawa, Vice President and Executive Director of Canon Co., Ltd., Chairman and CEO of Canon (China) Co., Ltd., said in an interview with China Business News that Canon is actively catering to market changes and hopes to achieve Canon (China)'s sales target of No. 1 in Canon Group by 2035.

In 2035, sales in China will be No. 1 in Canon

China Business News: In the current complex world economic and geopolitical situation, how do you view the position and importance of the Chinese market in Canon's global business layout? What is your outlook for Canon's business in China this year?

Hideki Ozawa: I believe that all foreign companies, like our Canon, attach great importance to the Chinese market. Because China is now the second largest economy in the world, it is developing very fast. There are still many advantages for China, including some products in the Chinese market still have some particularities, China still has a very big potential, these are the reasons why everyone attaches more importance to the Chinese market.

It can be seen that the Chinese government has given positive policy signals to promote economic development, including the current trade-in, subsidies for the purchase of energy-saving household appliances, and the recent removal of restrictions on housing purchases in many regions, including the possibility of buying another house outside Beijing's Fifth Ring Road, etc., and the positive effects of these policies on the economy will take longer to fully manifest.

In the future, Canon (China) will become more and more important in the entire Canon Group, and we hope to achieve the goal of Canon (China) being the No. 1 seller in the Canon Group by 2035.

China Business Daily: Does the recent depreciation of the yen have any impact on companies?

Hideki Ozawa: Actually, the depreciation of the yen has both advantages and disadvantages for us, because for Canon, nearly 80% of its turnover comes from countries other than Japan, so we basically receive dollars for us, which is probably a good thing for us. No matter how good an economist or a historian is, there is basically nothing right about the future development, because many things are difficult for us to predict. Everyone knows the "black swan" phenomenon, some things happened suddenly, the epidemic is also one of them, many things may not be thought of by us, one after another, what the future will look like, in fact, no one can say, just now I also talked about the "Wuka era", many things are not transparent, resulting in our inability to predict and judge the future direction now.

Earn "Gen Z" money in cool ways

China Business News: The emergence of smartphones has had a very big impact on cameras, but we have learned that Canon's cameras are selling very well at this stage.

Hideki Ozawa: Judging from the results of the recent May Day Golden Week, there are about 270 million people traveling every day, which is good in terms of the number of trips. But today's young people are more inclined to choose the "special forces" way of travel, everyone will choose a cheap, near, immediate return, fast-paced way. Unlike the original, it was possible to go a little farther, and the consumption could be more, but now everyone is reluctant to spend money, but they still want to travel, so there are more people who choose the "special forces" way of traveling.

Nowadays, young people are under great pressure to find employment and economic pressure, but they still want to travel, want to go out and see, the world is so big, they will also go. Because they may not have the same concept as the people we used to be. They think it's okay if you don't have a job, but if I want to travel, I'll go, even if the consumption is downgraded. Especially the "post-00s", their ideas and consumption concepts are different from ours, and in the past, we all felt that "there is no job, what else do you need 'bicycles'?" ”。 They will have other ideas, probably because now the "post-00s" are basically all children, who can get financial support from their families and have fewer worries about personal consumption. From this aspect, our camera sales are very good. The business prospects of our to C are very good, because young people play with cameras, especially after the media has become popular. Now, everyone is playing live streaming, so they pay a lot of attention to the camera.

China Business News: What is the specific price range of the camera that young people love?

Hideki Ozawa: Because our camera products are very professional, those who like mid-to-high-end models may be a little older. Now the EOS R50 is also very easy for beginners and young people to get started, and the price is less than 10,000 yuan, so it is very easy for young people to buy, and they also have this budget, so Canon's EOS R50 sells particularly well.

The EOS R50 is hard to find right now and out of stock. Why are our cameras selling so well now? Because the "post-00s" were born with smart phones, mobile phones are not a new thing for them, but the camera is not a single person, they think the camera is very fun, and coupled with the current demand for these self-media and live broadcasts, they found that the first storage time of the mobile phone is not good, and the clarity of the second shot is not good, so they start to play with the camera, and the camera has some entry-level models that are not too expensive for them. Canon has a product that has broken a new record in terms of sales last month, also thanks to the development of self-media and social platforms in China, so young people are especially fond of using cameras now.

According to the survey, there are now more than 300 million young people between the ages of 16 and 35 in China, and these young people do not have a camera in their hands. These young people don't pursue what everyone has, they don't have a herd mentality, they pursue individuality, self, what others have, I don't want to have, I want something unique to me. Cameras are relatively new for young people, because they may not have played with cameras when they were born, including everyone knows that CCD has become popular again recently, but also because young people have not seen it, because these machines have been discontinued, and now the retro style is popular again, so these have a positive effect on the Canon to C market. There are more than 300 million young people between the ages of 16 and 35 in China, which is about three times the population of Japan, so this market is very large. Although we understand that these young people especially like retro looks, I personally don't understand the buying psychology of young people sometimes, why do you like these very retro things? It's hard to understand.

China Business News: In response to changes in the Chinese market, will Canon adjust the development of follow-up products?

Hideki Ozawa: First of all, the Chinese market is a particularly interesting market, like in the B field, for example, selling some photocopiers and printers to companies, and they are willing to buy some low-end products, because they are buying from enterprises. Like to the C-end, for example, the camera is purchased by individuals, but high-end products sell better. China's macroeconomic changes have led to some changes in the consumer market, but enthusiasts who have the time and budget are still willing to buy something expensive. Just talking about the young market, they are also beginning to be interested in cameras, and the Canon EOS R50 as the representative of the "Youth Micro" is very attractive to young people. A few years ago, the EOS 5D Mark II sold very well, it is quite expensive, high-end machine, enthusiasts will also pay attention. Now there are two different directions of consumption. Like professional enthusiasts, they will still pay attention to high-end models of specialized micro; And for starters, they may prefer to buy an entry-level, cheaper model, so it's a state where the two lines are in balance. In this regard, the future of the Chinese market is also very worth looking forward to.

China Business News: And now that AI is developing iteratively, in terms of mobile phone photography, AI has been involved in photography with a relatively large proportion, and in the future, will Canon launch new products in AI?

Hideki Ozawa: Canon is also making efforts in terms of AI, and we hope to be able to further integrate it into our products in the future, but it may not be convenient to reveal too much inside information on this occasion today, so you can look forward to it! Canon is definitely doing this, and AI will definitely be further integrated into camera products.

(Editor: Hao Cheng Review: Wu Kezhong Proofreader: Zhang Guogang)