What Factors Determine the Popularity of Photography in Ksa?

Answer the following questions:

1. What factors determine the popularity of photography in KSA?

There are many different factors that determine the demand for photograph in Saudi Arabia, such as the product price. Since the per capita disposable income in KSA is relative low, in comparison to that in the U.S., and reaches only $11,400 the prices for photography equipment are relatively high for the Saudi Arabian citizens. The product price increases additionally through an import tariff of 12% for photography related products that have to be imported, since there are no domestic products offered on the market. The poor advertising also negatively affected the demand of the photography equipment.

Also the geographical aspect, that 75% of the Saudi population live in urban areas, determines the demand for photography related products. Since the companies that provide photo equipment, such as Fuji, Kodak, Konica, and others, focus mostly on the big cities located in the East and West part of the country, 25% of the population that live in the center, North, or South part of the country are left out. This people have no opportunity to buy photography related product and therefore do not demand it.

However, the religious aspects influence the most the popularity of photography in Saudi Arabia. The majorities of Saudi Arabians, except most of the expatriations, are Muslim. The strong religious beliefs and cultural norms of Saudis influence their buying behavior alike in many other Middle Eastern countries. Within the Islamic religion the usage of the photography regarding women is very restricted. The pictures can be taken of women only on special occasions such as weddings or family reunion. Women are also not allowed to take pictures themselves, except for professional female photographers. All these factors, as well as the fear of a woman being seen unveiled during the development process or the possibility of somebody being able to duplicate the pictures decrease the popularity and therefore the demand of photography related products.

2. Why is Fuji's market share in KSA low? Is EMDICO the solution?

One of the reasons that affected negatively the popularity of photography and therefore Fuji's sales were the cultural norms and the Muslim prescripts. Since FUJIFILM was selling its products in Israel, the company could not enter the Middle Eastern market, including KSA market, before the Arab boycott was lifted in 1983. In the meantime, Kodak and Konica, Fuji's main competitors, were active on the KSA market with more than a decade earlier. Moreover, Kodak and Konica were in a tight competition before Fuji entered the market. This correlated with the fact that only a few outlets out of 2,600 sold more than two brands of films or cameras, so that FUJIFILM had difficulties to establish its distributional channels, in other words to find dealers who would be willing to carry Fuji's products. This is one of the disadvantages that companies face if they choose or are forced to implement the follower strategy. Both, Kodak and Konica, had already a relatively big market shares and the brand loyalty to their products was high enough to marginalize FUJIFILM. However, the cultural and religious restrictions, low per capita disposable income, or Fuji's late market entry cannot alone explain Fuji's low market share, since in the countries like Iran and Syria, for example, where the income was even lower, Fuji's share of minilab installations exceeded 30%. All these facts lead to the conclusion that the incompetence and lack of cultural experience of Fuji's former distributor was the main reason for company's low market share. This distributor was recommended by Mitsui Corporation, a Japanese trading company that was not very familiar with Saudi Arabian market. Only 10% of distributor's sales were generated from Fuji's product line, therefore the distributor did not pay that much attention to it. In a high-context culture, such as in Saudi Arabia, it is important to establish a good personal relationship and trust with the counterpart in order to conduct business. This relationship and trust was jeopardized by stock outs and late deliveries, which resulted in a negative image of FUJIFILM and in the fact that several dealers switched to competitive brands, which decreased Fuji's market share.

Due to the fact that the incompetence of Fuji's former distributor damaged company's image and decreased its market share, a change of the distributor would be the first step the company would have to take, in order to improve its market position. FUJIFILM recruited EMDICO as its new distributor. EMDICO's general manager, D. Srinivasan, was the marketing manager for Fuji Film's distributor in Kuwait when the Iraq army started the war. He returned to the region later, as general manager of EMDICO in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. His previous experience as a marketing manager for Fuji's distributor in a neighboring country is vital for his new task in KSA. By visiting India he also became familiar with the national minorities that live in KSA and,