Elmsford, N.Y. – Citing a lack of distribution for its more obscure accessories, Fujifilm announced last week that its direct to consumer accessory ‘cyber-mall’ is now live and open for business at www.fujifilmmall.com.
The online store seeks to provide customers with some of the harder-to-find camera components, like telephoto and wide angle lenses and power adapters, said Darin Pepple, brand manager, digital products, consumer markets division, Fujifilm.
‘We didn’t go into this lightly because we place a high value on our retail partners,’ said Pepple, who added that cameras and flash memory will continue to be sold strictly by Fujifilm resellers and not online.
According to Pepple, customer demand for the more esoteric, Fuji-branded accessories that often are not sold at national retail chains forced the company’s hand.
‘Through our representatives we spoke to most of our accounts and they were fine with the decision,’ Pepple said, ‘In many cases they don’t have the space for these branded accessories along with all our other SKUs, and so they stock third party items.’
The only non-Fujifilm branded accessory to be sold through the new online store will be a AA battery charger from DigiPower.
The issue of accessory distribution has plagued a number of digital camera manufacturers who have had difficulty getting shelf space for items such as camera bags, tripod stands and advanced camera lens and filters at many non-specialty retail outlets. Many, like Nikon and Sony, have turned to the Web to provide their customers with digital camera related supplies.
