Canon Appears To Plan 10% RF Lens Price Hike in Japan
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I hope the Japan price hikes will not translate into further hikes abroad as we just received hikes in February though given that Canon is a Japanese company, everything would be based off of the Yen. These hikes are definitely not due to inflation as Japan has minimal inflation at best vs US' currently high inflationary index. I do understand that parts and logistics have become more costly but if you look at the recently announced 800mm and 1200mm with their already sky high pricing and negative reception and now add news of a general 10% price hike to the mix, it would just seem ill timed at best from a PR perspective.
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Your chart shows inflation but inflation figures are based on a basket of goods and services. You could say that CPI is related to WPI but that is not always the case. Japan CPI represents:
Food (25 percent of total weight)
Housing (21 percent).
Transportation and communications accounts for 14 percent;
Culture and recreation for 11.5 percent;
Fuel, light and water charges for 7 percent;
Medical care for 4.3 percent;
Clothes and footwear for 4 percent.
What we really need to look at is wage rate increases. Major Japanese companies and labour unions agreed on wage hikes of 2.18% in 2019, 2% in 2020 and 1.86% in 2021. Kishida san is urging companies to raise rates to be 3% or more in 2022 to "restart new capitalism".
I think that you need to align what the labour vs component pricing would be within cameras and lenses. Lenses (particularly big glass) would have more labour cost but local Japanese assembly cost would be relatively small vs component cost. Shipping costs have gone up for sure but as a %?
SW costs is all labour and clearly that is an increasing % of the total cost but we don't know whether Canon are using local or external labour (eg India etc) for it. Wage rate increases may be low in Japan but higher elsewhere.
SG&A admin costs will be in Yen but sales/marketing costs will be spread around the world
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Canon is desperately trying to keep their numbers looking strong for shareholders despite a sinking market. I’m considering holding off investing any more of my funds here; we’ve got an unstable world and this is getting ridiculous. The consumers are eating all the trouble—when was the last time we read about the management getting a decrease in pay? How about shareholders perhaps getting a smaller than expected dividend or maybe lowering the forecast expectations a bit more so they don’t have to keep up the act? Continuing to crank up the prices to fill in the gap is not going to work for much longer, IMO. It’s untenable.
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FFS Canon’s MIJ gear is already priced higher than the US, why the hell do we have to pay so much more in Japan??? It’s getting to the point that if I want to buy glass, I’m better off flying from Tokyo to NY, buying from B&H and then flying back with change in my pocket.
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We’re seeing this across the board with just about everything we buy. Now is not a bad time to add 10% to what you charge or ask for that raise. I did this towards the end of last year and haven’t heard a peep about it from clients.
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This is where Sony, as the much larger, much better diversified company has a distinct advantage in its ability to weather a volatile market. That said, I doubt the price changes are based on much more than the sliding Yen, and don't think it will have an impact on current U.S./E.U. pricing.
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Told you so. See my posts about the bizarrely overpriced RF 800 and 1200. Those are the new normal. RF 400 and 600 are underpriced and if you buy one now (I just did) you’ll be glad when the price for the same will be $1000-2000 higher next month.
A 600 for $13000 is going to look pretty good when they’re $15000 in six months. Mark my words.
it’s not just exchange rates, it’s global inflation. Is you have cash and want something, but it all now.
A 600 for $13000 is going to look pretty good when they’re $15000 in six months. Mark my words.
it’s not just exchange rates, it’s global inflation. Is you have cash and want something, but it all now.
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Canon has loyal customers but they are “testing” the loyalty with the price creep of already expensive L lenses. With so many pressures on fuel, food, heating etc. disposable income for luxuries like camera equipment will only be pushed further away by ever increasing prices.
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