Fujifilm’s Instax Instant Film Business is Booming
Fuji’s Instax instant film was the bestselling item in Amazon’s Camera category in the 2015 holiday season. It wasn’t a fluke: the company’s instant film business has been exploding in popularity in recent years.
By comparison, the company only sold 1.4 million digital cameras in the previous year. What’s more, the standalone digital camera industry saw a 19% decline.
The major Instax uptick is attributed to the “analog revival,” which includes not only instant and retro-looking cameras, but things like vinyl record players and more.
The “analog revival” is coming at a great time for Instax: the Wall Street Journal reports that after launching in 1998 and selling 1 million units by 2002, Fujifilm Instax sales plunged to 100,000 by 2004. New developments were non-existent for 10 years, and Fujifilm even considered shuttering the division.
Popularity of Fujifilm Instax is consistent around the world: of its global sales, 30% are from the United States, 30% is from Asia, and 15% is from Europe. If you’re a fan of Fuji’s instant film products, don’t worry too much about availability — unlike Fuji’s FP-100C peel-apart instant film, it doesn’t look like Instax will be going away anytime soon.
(via Wall Street Journal via Fuji Rumors)
Image credits: Header photo by Vladimir Fedotov
