Japanese security companies' advantages and sustainable development strategies

Japanese security companies are the main force of foreign brands on the Chinese security market, and many companies have always been market leaders. Their advantages are mainly in the areas of surveillance, CCTV lenses and burglar alarms. The key components and core technologies of security manufacturing are basically in the hands of Japanese companies, thus laying a very difficult position in the Chinese market.

On March 11, a 9-magnitude earthquake struck the northeastern coast of Japan, causing a tsunami. The earthquake and tsunami hit the local electronics manufacturing industry in Japan, and it also caused a big shock wave to the security industry. The first thing was the panic that raised the price increase of CCD chips.

Why can an earthquake spread to the security industry? This is because, in the security industry, Japanese companies are basically in the upper reaches of the industrial chain and hold the core technology and key components of security. Many of the core components of Chinese security manufacturing companies rely on Japanese imports. Take CCD as an example. Domestic companies use it. Most of the CCD chips are SONY products, followed by SHARP products. In addition, anti-theft alarm manufacturers to produce infrared detectors important components reed switch is also dominated by Japanese products.

Sendai and Fukushima near the earthquake center are a gathering place for Japanese semiconductor manufacturing. Many semiconductor factories of international giants such as Sony and Toshiba in the area were forced to shut down under the influence of the earthquake; an important supplier of reed pipes. OKI (Japan's OKI Corporation) semiconductor plant in the northeastern Japan region was also greatly affected. Due to the proximity to the center of the earthquake, the glass tube of the diffusion furnace of the OKI Miyagi Semi-conductor Plant broke down and was forced to stop production.

Someone once made such a "joking": If Sony and Sharp of Japan stop supplying CCDs, all surveillance camera manufacturers in China may stop production overnight. Although this statement is exaggerated, it is not unreasonable.

Japan's security industry's clustering advantages Over the years, in the Chinese security market, there have been hundreds of foreign brands, large and small, and there are altogether hundreds of foreign brands. They can be basically divided into five "brands" - Japan, North America, Europe, and South Korea. Department, Israel Department.

Japanese security companies are among the first to enter the Chinese market. Representative companies include Panasonic, Sony, Hitachi, Sanyo, JVC, Sharp, Tamron, CBC, PENTAX (Pentax), Olympus (Nagano Lens), Fujinon. ), Tokina, Seiko, Sikom, Ai Lifu, TOA, Aifeng etc.

After combing and analyzing, we found that the advantages of Japanese security companies are mainly concentrated in the areas of surveillance, CCTV cameras, and anti-theft alarms. Especially in the field of surveillance, they have laid and formed a market dominance that is difficult to shake.

Like many high-tech companies in Japan, Japanese security companies hold the right to speak in key technologies and core components in the security field. In this regard, the security shock wave brought about by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan is the best proof.

In the surveillance market, Panasonic, Sony, Hitachi, Sanyo, JVC, etc. have always been the leaders of the market [without paragraph style] main body level title. Moreover, the development of these companies in the Chinese market has been very steady, with few ups and downs.

In recent years, although the European and American security giants are fierce in the Chinese market, some developments have not been very smooth, and there have been many accidents. Some have even faded out of sight and some have been acquired. However, almost none of these Japanese security companies that we are familiar with have changed.

It's not hard to notice that we are familiar with these Japanese security companies. Most are not professional security companies. For example, Panasonic, Sony, Hitachi, Sanyo, and JVC are all well-known electronics, home appliances, and electrical companies. Security is just their business. Part. The lens manufacturers such as Tamron, CBC, Olympus, Fujinon, Touli, Seiko, etc., mostly made camera lenses, cut into CCTV lens manufacturing, but only expanded and extended their product application areas. However, they have performed well in the security industry and have also received substantial returns.

Japanese security companies have entered the Chinese market for a long time, and it can even be said that China's monitoring industry is developed under their leadership. Most of the surveillance cameras used in the early days of banking installations were Panasonic products. Panasonic cameras used to account for more than 30% of the financial system's market share.

Japan's security industry is developed, forming a strong cluster advantage and winning a high reputation in the market. As a result, China's security market has been flooded with counterfeit “Japanese brands” for many years. Most of these brands are playing “border ball”. In the promotion and promotion, they often use “famous Japanese brands” to attract and mislead consumers. , It is hard to distinguish between true and false, in fact, some brands do not exist in Japan. However, this phenomenon is enough to see the influence of Japanese security brands in the Chinese market and market appeal.

The most advanced industrial chain in the home, earning high profits For any industry, the development of core and key technologies requires huge amounts of funds for support. But the investment is high and the return is high.

Looking at Japanese security companies, the Chinese market is basically at the top of the industrial chain. If the security technology is likened to a "pyramid", then a few Japanese security companies such as Panasonic and Sony are at the top of the pyramid.

Because of the mastery of core technologies such as CCDs, coupled with the small number of companies at the top of the tower, they will basically not be plagued by vicious competition, so they will earn high profits steadily. It is precisely because of this that they have more money than other companies to invest in R&D, thus forming a "high input - mastering core technologies - earning high profits - investing funds to develop new technologies" Virtuous cycle.

Take the surveillance camera as an example. The camera is mainly composed of a CCD (or CMOS), a DSP, and a lens. The main function of the CCD (or CMOS) is to acquire an image. The function of the DSP is mainly to process the image, which belongs to the key technology of the camera. At present, there are not many security companies that can really master DSP technology, and there are only a few who have mastered CCD technology. At present, CCD resources are mainly monopolized by Japanese companies. Most domestic camera manufacturers use SONY and SHARP CCD chips.

The research and development of core technologies and key components requires a large investment, and Taiwan Mintone invested 100 million yuan to develop DSP processors.

In terms of camera technology, Chinese companies currently have certain advantages in low-end CCTV cameras, but high-end shots with higher profits are basically monopolized by Japanese companies.

In the camera's key components DSP, especially CCD, there is still a big gap between Chinese companies and Japanese companies. Domestic camera manufacturers have not yet developed the capabilities of CCD or even DSP in terms of capital or technology. In addition, SONY and SHARP have basically formed monopoly advantages in this area, and they have almost no chance to allow other manufacturers to enter.

Usually we pay more attention to the monitoring industry. Actually, not only in the field of surveillance, but also in the field of burglar alarms, many key components are also held in Japan [without paragraph style]. The main components of the reed switch are also Japanese manufacturers.