Beginning: The company started as a lab, taking its name from Buddhism
In the beginning of the 20th century, only two Canon companies were dominant. Germany’s Leica and Contax. These companies launched 35 mm camera models in the market in 1932-33. But these were out of the reach of the common man due to their high prices. Meanwhile, Goro Yoshida, a camera repairman in Japan, got the desire to make these cameras afresh. He opened Leica’s cameras and found its engineering easy. Yoshida wanted to make a camera which was cheap. One of his relatives Saburo Uchida and Takio Maeda together laid the foundation of Optical Instruments Lab in Tokyo. Canon was officially established on 10 August 1937 and Takeshi Mitarai was elected as the first president of the company.
The name Canon was named after Kwanon, who is considered the goddess of mercy in Buddhism. The first 15 mm focal plane shutter camera was launched in 1934.
Success: Launched the first autofocus SLR
Initially, Canon did not make its own lenses. It joined hands with the Japanese company Nippon for lenses. Later, the optical engineers of the company made the lenses and the lens division was named Serenor. Meanwhile, the company got entangled in the name. The body of the camera was sold under the name Canon, the lens under the name Serenor and the manufacturer was Precision Optical Industry. Finally, in 1947, Mitarai changed the name of the company to Calan Camera Company Limited. In 1954, Canon was about to overtake Leica when Leica launched its MU model in the market. This camera was many years ahead in terms of technology. After this, the company launched the camera in 1958. It was such a hit that the week’s stock was finished in two hours.
• In the year 1987, Canon launched the world’s first autofocus single lens reflex camera Canon EGS 650. It proved to be a hit.
The company has done sales of Rs 241 lakh crore in the last financial year.
50% of the company’s sales come from the printing business, which is the highest.
Business: It not only manufactures cameras but also semi-conductors.
According to experts, the secret of Canon’s success lies in constantly enduring change. When the company, which started by making cameras, saw that there were opportunities in the field of photocopying and printing, it stepped into it and soon left behind the giant companies of this field. The company launched an excellent global corporation plan in 1996. Under this, business plans were launched for the long term along with the medium term. Today, apart from the imaging business with cameras and LEM, Canon also manufactures printing equipment, medical equipment, OLED displays, semiconductor lithography. Canon is ready to start commercial use of the new semiconductor technology Nano-Ice.
• Canon started business in India in 1997. It has offices in 10 cities in the country and employs more than a thousand people.
10.9% average sales from imaging group, which includes cameras, lenses, CCTV
With the advancement of technology, camera companies are among the industries that have been most affected in the last two decades. As the cameras in smartphones improved, the demand for cameras started decreasing. In the year 2010, where 12 crore cameras were sold worldwide, by 2022 this number came down to 72 lakhs. The world’s camera market leader ‘Canon’ is also not untouched by this. This Japanese company is at the top with 46 percent market share. However, now in view of the new challenges, the company has started focusing on other business segments. Canon is preparing to introduce a new technology of semiconductor chipmaking ‘Nanoimprint’ in the market. What is the story of this company, read in this week’s brand story.
The Academy Award (Oscar) has been given in the category of science and technical awards to companies or individuals who have made a significant contribution to the field of cinema. Canon’s K-35 macro zoom lens won an Oscar in this category in 1973 for its innovative cinematic effects. This iconic image is of Canon’s first camera KWANIN (1934) and the Hansa Canon of 1936. The Schreiner lens is visible in the middle. It is on display at an exhibition in Tokyo.