Film photography is making a comeback as seen on social media. Ashley Reeder Morgan, vice president of marketing, and consumer products at FUJIFILM North America joined Cheddar News to discuss the resurgence of Instax cameras and advice on how to choose the right camera. “We're really focused on making sure our customers have access to the instax products they want and love," she said.

Closing Bell

Instax Film Cameras Are Making a Comeback

bell here on cheddar news be with you in a second. Hold on. It's gonna be a good one I think. Yeah, it is. So Film photography is not dead even though about 20 years ago digital cameras and smartphones created a mostly digital photography world. Now film photography companies say film is making a comeback and fujifilm is hoping to lead the market share as it does. So joining us now is Ashley Reader morgen, vice president of marketing and consumer products at fuji film North America and Ashley. How is business going as interest grows in film photography? So, you know, in fact, for a fiscal year that just ended March 31st, the overall revenue generated from Fujifilm consumer imaging division which includes in stacks, was it 219 billion yen. Or approximately 1.8 billion U. S. Dollars. This represents a revenue increase of 16.9% year over year And it contributed to an operating income increase. That was 2.4 times the year prior for the Imaging Solutions Division as a whole. So past performance was strong and the future outlook is also bright with consumer demand. So as people travel and hold more events post pandemic, they may want to take a film camera with them. So what models and products our customers flocking to. Sure. So pre pandemic insects use cases were oriented around social gatherings. You've probably seen them at parties or while traveling all of that pause in spring of 2020. And we conducted some research last year to understand how consumers are using insects during the pandemic and when face to face connection was strained. We heard instances of people organizing old prints and reliving those memories or decorating their spaces with insects, literally taping them on the walls and putting them on the fridge in creating Mementos or small gifts for friends and family. Um, now that some of the covid restrictions have lifted a lot of those historical use cases are back uh festivals, parties travel, which is great And consumers love the entry level camera are many 11 that you just used for that awesome selfie. But we've spent a lot of time looking at emerging trends and talking to users to better understand what they love or what they want from. In fact, and over the years we've expanded our product line to include a smartphone printer including the brand new mini link to it just launched a few weeks ago, which allows you to send images from your phone's camera able to the printer for instant shareable in stacks. Print the link to is great for on the go. It's portable. It's fast. It also has some fun features including the insect air, which allows users to draw on their prints so they can add their own customization right in the app. And then that's reflected in the print itself when the pandemic struck. What kind of changes did you have to make to your product line or your strategies to help those who still want to capture the moment but might be doing so at home with less people are turning more to the internet to share their images. Yeah, we really focused on listening to our users and understanding what their wants and needs are. So like, like I mentioned, we conducted that consumer research. We didn't have to change anything when it came to our lineup or features. Um, but we did put an emphasis on all of the great things that you can do with insects at home. We even collaborated with Westchester county new york based health care system to donate in fact cameras and films so healthcare workers could use prints on their P. P. E. To show patients, their faces when they were covered with masks or with shields. And this added a dimension of humanity to an otherwise scary and uncertain situation. And although insects took on some new use cases during the pandemic at the core, it's still really about connection. So turning to operating levels. Did you see a slump during the pandemic and what sort of recovery are you seeing now? Well, like I mentioned past performance was strong and the future outlook is also very bright. Fujifilm has a commitment to the image imaging industry as a driver in our long term strategy and our recent investor relations reporting Fujifilm named the imaging solutions group is one of the four key pillars of the business. So we're continuing to evolve and innovate for insects specifically. We've invested in film production expansion, which will increase film production capacity at 20% going forward. And we're really focused on making sure our customers have access to the insects products they want and love now, are there any partnerships that are in the works right now, perhaps for the later summer months or even this fall in spring? Nothing that I could allude to right now. But we are working in um categories like fashion, music, gaming. Uh and we do have a partnership on the horizon. I'll give you a sneak peek with the undisputed masters, which is a breakdancing competition. And I think this really shows how insects isn't just a camera. It's a true lifestyle product. So you also have wireless cameras. I'm a big fan of your XT3. What have you guys done to make sure that both the wireless side, which is more modern and the film sign get as much attention and as many sales as possible. We really think about analog and digital as an evolution. Um It's not analog or digital or analog to digital anymore. It's not a juxtaposition. Um And so our core users for in fact are gen Z and millennials. That age is about 10 to 25 for gen Z. Or 26 to 41 for millennials. And remember a large portion of these cohorts are digital natives. So digital is part of their D. N. A. But they also are finding that this you only have one shot phenomenon. Like in fact is something totally new and interesting and they're holding space for both digital and analog to show you a picture that I took earlier that selfie that I enjoyed so much. Now that is a great selfie. But I was also wondering with so much talk about the metaverse, Does fujifilm have any plans for perhaps or metaverse accessories? We're definitely exploring that space. Um, and it looks like it's part of our future roadmap. But again, nothing to disclose in detail just yet. All right. So what's next for your imaging business unit? As far as growth expectations or new product launches? Like I mentioned, um, we've expand our lineup from not just cameras to smartphone printers to hybrid devices and we've got a lot of new film types. So in addition to the mini link to, we just launched a spray art film, which is sort of a spray paint effect on the frame. We're rolling out new films with different colors and patterns in alignment with design trends. We've also seen a lot of interest from gen Z with are one time use film cameras. That's our quick snap line reinforcing the demand and interest in analog media with the the younger generation. So I really expect more evolution from our product lines. And again, we're focused on bringing users fujifilm joy and connection with the future lineup. Well, I will tell you Ashley Rita morgan. This was a lot of fun and my picture, if we want to show that real quick looks really fantastic. Ashley Reader morgen, vice president of marketing and consumer products at fuji film North America Ashley thank you so much for being with us.