Fuji increasing prices in April

[Dani]

https://www.fujifilm.com/ffis/ja/news/103

So far only in Japanese but film will be increasing 20 to 60%

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Even if they increase Acros by %20, it'll still be a bit cheaper over there than it is here... I'd love to hear what Rachelle has to say. (@mooseontheloose)

 

[mshchem]

What will double in price? Velvia will be a dollar a frame, without processing.

 

[mooseontheloose]

Even if they increase Acros by %20, it'll still be a bit cheaper over there than it is here... I'd love to hear what Rachelle has to say. (@mooseontheloose)

First I heard of this news! I just checked the prices and a roll of Acros II is about $8 (USD), for either 35mm or 120 film.

Luckily (or not) for me, I bought several hundred rolls of Acros when it was discontinued a few years ago (not realizing that the II version would be released less than a year later), so I haven't had to buy it for some time, nor will I need to in the foreseeable future. The increased cost of colour lab processing worries me, but I'll probably switch over to Kodak processing if it does (it's cheaper right now than Fuji anyway). I still have about 20 rolls of Provia 400x to get through, although to be fair I don't shoot it that often.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

First I heard of this news! I just checked the prices and a roll of Acros II is about $8 (USD), for either 35mm or 120 film.

Luckily (or not) for me, I bought several hundred rolls of Acros when it was discontinued a few years ago (not realizing that the II version would be released less than a year later), so I haven't had to buy it for some time, nor will I need to in the foreseeable future. The increased cost of colour lab processing worries me, but I'll probably switch over to Kodak processing if it does (it's cheaper right now than Fuji anyway). I still have about 20 rolls of Provia 400x to get through, although to be fair I don't shoot it that often.

That's exactly what I did too! Luckily my wife was in Japan when they announced the discontinuation of Acros, so she bought twenty, five roll packs of 120 Acros. I've barely made a dent in them LoL!

 

[Photomultiplier]

Good that i have some of it already in storage. And even more is on its way
And i found RVP50 to be almost bulletproof. Had a roll with expiry date 2012 in the freezer until a few months ago and then sometimes in my backpack, back in de fridge again for some time and back and forth
several times. Still came out of the development tank perfectly!

I will still buy it at the new prices to replenish what has been used from my stockpile.
Probably the consumer C41 films will get the highest increase and the already expensive slide flims the least, but we will see. I'd rather live in a world with more expensive film than no film at all.

 

[Nitroplait]

Via Google translate (my emphasis):

"Fujifilm Imaging Systems Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, President: Koji Matsumoto) responded to the recent rise in raw material prices, transportation costs, etc., as well as the decline in demand for photographic-related products. We have made every effort to absorb costs by improving production efficiency and reducing costs, but since it is difficult to absorb costs only by corporate efforts, we will revise the prices as follows. <snip>"​

The bolded statement surprises me. It was my impression that Fujifilm is killing it with their Instax products, and they even have to resort to repackage Kodak Gold to meet demand in the US.

 

[Photomultiplier]

This line also made me wonder, but i think it is more of a general statement because the film market today is totally different than in its heyday, so even a strong resurgence does not mean that all the chemistry and materials can be procured as easily and cheap as back in the day.
So they still suffer from those economies of scale. Even if film sales would increase by 100%, there was still the huge drop from its peak down in the ~1% range. When, for example, backing paper could be manufactured efficiently with perfect quality in the times of
e.g. 400mio pcs/yr, it is still much harder to do at todays numbers. Doesn't matter if it is 4mio (drop to 1%) or 8mio (2% -> 100% increase from rock bottom). Only a return back to the same order of magnitude would reverse things.

And if one takes into account the turmoil we face now.... I wouldn't want to be the guy who has to procure all the crazy stuff at Fuji. There must be chemicals that are used only in certain Films and for nothing else. Complicated syntheses and so on and much much more expensive to make
in the comparatively small amounts of today.
Mirko from Adox mentioned that some raw materials multiplied their price over the years, and that was in "peace time". The pandemic and now the war is shaking everything.
Further he stated that all film manufacturers sell their film too cheap to keep everything running in the long run.

I am still dreaming about Kodak bringing back E100VS, the only non-Fuji slide film i really liked. But i don't think that Fuji wants to stop. They could have already done so without needing stupid excuses. The situation now would be the ideal starter, but they didn't.

But... It really sucks, i know. Still better to get it at higher prices than not at all.

 

[pentaxuser]

Via Google translate (my emphasis):

"Fujifilm Imaging Systems Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, President: Koji Matsumoto) responded to the recent rise in raw material prices, transportation costs, etc., as well as the decline in demand for photographic-related products. We have made every effort to absorb costs by improving production efficiency and reducing costs, but since it is difficult to absorb costs only by corporate efforts, we will revise the prices as follows. <snip>"​

The bolded statement surprises me. It was my impression that Fujifilm is killing it with their Instax products, and they even have to resort to repackage Kodak Gold to meet demand in the US.

It surprises me too. Normally a company bases its price on the change in conditions that it has experienced since its last increase but it is difficult to work out why Fuji has chosen those words. Clearly there has not been a decline in film sales recently. In fact the opposite so if Fuji is blaming the long term effect i.e. say over 20 years, of declining sales then it needed to say long term decline despite the recent upturn

However I fear we cannot put much faith in Fuji's statements in terms of a reflection of the truth Just look at the revival of Acros as an example

pentaxuser

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

It was guaranteed that Fuji would be raising prices once Kodak raised theirs.

 

[Arcadia4]

It was guaranteed that Fuji would be raising prices once Kodak raised theirs.

Absolutely. Until recently Fuji has been the price leader, and Kodak typically followed, but the impact of Kodaks recent rises provide an opportunity for Fuji to raise theirs by similar amounts and maintain parity (and generally they will be facing similar changes in raw materials costs too). I imagine consumer colour films will increase the most.
The 'decline in demand for photographic-related products' might not relate to film, but say also processing chemicals - not least as with vitually no colour film to buy and people travelling less in the last 2 years, demand for processing (& printing inc from digital) has likely fallen in actual terms, but seems likely to pick up again.
Last week I managed to buy 6 rolls of Superia 400 expiry 8/24 for ca £9/roll, so fresh stock and a decent price, but its virtually unobtainum. I know stockists who've notified existing customers (only) of some C200 recently but it sells immediately. Kodak Colorplus/Gold/Ultramax is the same.

 

[Don_ih]

Clearly there has not been a decline in film sales recently.

Perhaps there has been, in Japan.

 

[mooseontheloose]

Perhaps there has been, in Japan.

Perhaps. Since I moved back to Japan in 2010 I've seen a real decline in the film stocks available in the shops here - what used to be 2 or 3 long coolers of film are now a mini fridge behind the counter. They rarely keep more than a few rolls of any specific film in stock so it's likely to be sold out when you want some, or you have to pick and choose with what's available (2 of Acros, 3 HP5+, 1 Tri-X, etc.). It's much easier to buy online since the stocks are robust there. But I hate seeing the film and darkroom sections of stores decline (Yodobashi is really the only one left who continues to maintain them, BIC Camera is hit or miss); as such I always make sure to buy a few rolls of film, even if I don't really need it right then, just to show that there are customers who still want it.

 

[mooseontheloose]

That's exactly what I did too! Luckily my wife was in Japan when they announced the discontinuation of Acros, so she bought twenty, five roll packs of 120 Acros. I've barely made a dent in them LoL!

This is my Acros stash - most of it is 120, although I seem to be burning through the 35mm stock faster than the 120. I used to have so much only about half could go in the fridge/freezer (there's a lot more stuff in there as well), but now I've got it all in the crisper. As much as I like shooting with I've come to realize that I rely on higher speed films (mostly HP5+ and Delta 400) for most of my shooting so it'll be interesting to see how long it take for me to get through it all.

 

[Sirius Glass]

It was guaranteed that Fuji would be raising prices once Kodak raised theirs.

Where is the logical and business connection? A company will raise its prices and potentially hurt sales because it can?

I wonder if they prowl Photrio posts looking for ways to piss off AEK just because they can.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Perhaps. Since I moved back to Japan in 2010 I've seen a real decline in the film stocks available in the shops here - what used to be 2 or 3 long coolers of film are now a mini fridge behind the counter. They rarely keep more than a few rolls of any specific film in stock so it's likely to be sold out when you want some, or you have to pick and choose with what's available (2 of Acros, 3 HP5+, 1 Tri-X, etc.). It's much easier to buy online since the stocks are robust there. But I hate seeing the film and darkroom sections of stores decline (Yodobashi is really the only one left who continues to maintain them, BIC Camera is hit or miss); as such I always make sure to buy a few rolls of film, even if I don't really need it right then, just to show that there are customers who still want it.

Rather than a market change, it sounds like the store would like to stop selling film.

 

[mooseontheloose]

Rather than a market change, it sounds like the store would like to stop selling film.

I'm mostly talking about Yodobashi Camera here, which is the biggest electronics/home appliances/etc. chain in Japan. Like Fujifilm, the "camera" part of their name is just a fraction of their business model now, although of course they have a quite a sizeable section of digital gear available. But I think, also like Fuji, they need to cater to the older established photographers who still expect the core products to be available - getting rid of it entirely would be too much of a hassle (and PR problem) so they keep the minimum amount to keep them happy.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I'm mostly talking about Yodobashi Camera here, which is the biggest electronics/home appliances/etc. chain in Japan. Like Fujifilm, the "camera" part of their name is just a fraction of their business model now, although of course they have a quite a sizeable section of digital gear available. But I think, also like Fuji, they need to cater to the older established photographers who still expect the core products to be available - getting rid of it entirely would be too much of a hassle (and PR problem) so they keep the minimum amount to keep them happy.

Just the minimum just to keep the pesky old buggers around although really the stores want them to just buy their electronic cameras and stop using film so the store would have more counter space available for digital cameras.

 

[MattKing]

as well as the decline in demand for photographic-related products

I believe they have had that same phrase in every price change announcement since I started here at APUG.
It doesn't just apply to film - digital cameras too.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I believe they have had that same phrase in every price change announcement since I started here at APUG.
It doesn't just apply to film - digital cameras too.

Yep. I noticed it too, but several years later.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

Where is the logical and business connection? A company will raise its prices and potentially hurt sales because it can?

I wonder if they prowl Photrio posts looking for ways to piss off AEK just because they can.

Fuji is faced with the same inflation issues as Kodak. So once Kodak raised their prices, it was inevitable that Fuji would do the same.
And I'm not pissed off at Fuji prices. I am annoyed that they're canceling Velvia 50.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Fuji is faced with the same inflation issues as Kodak. So once Kodak raised their prices, it was inevitable that Fuji would do the same.
And I'm not pissed off at Fuji prices. I am annoyed that they're canceling Velvia 50.

At least you do not take it personally, some posters do.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

At least you do not take it personally, some posters do.

Well, I am more pissed off at other higher prices lately. Haircuts are up 33%. Pizza about 20%. Tonight, my wife and I went out for our anniversary at a steak place. For what we paid, we should have gotten the whole cow.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Well, I am more pissed off at other higher prices lately. Haircuts are up 33%. Pizza about 20%. Tonight, my wife and I went out for our anniversary at a steak place. For what we paid, we should have gotten the whole cow.

Grow you hair longer and eat Greek Salad.

 

[mgb74]

There is a public expectation of inflation right now, and some companies are relying on that to raise prices higher than what would be necessary to maintain margins. It's interesting to see what they are telling their investors in their quarterly filings. I don't know if this is the case with Fuji though.