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The recent announcement by Fuji Photo Film that it has acquired 100 per cent ownership of Hanimex Australasia has been welcomed by Graphic Systems Australasia (GSA). Hanimex Australasia is the holding company of the Hanimex Group, distributor in Australia and New Zealand for all Fujifilm products with the exception of printing-related products distributed by GSA. The Hanimex Group also manages a chain of retail shops for photography and other imaging-related products.Since 1967, the Hanimex Group has been the distributor of Fujifilm’s products (excluding graphic arts products) and has established a solid position both in Australia and New Zealand. Fujifilm’s exports to these two countries have been showing a large increase in recent years; particularly, the exports of digital cameras, "Frontier" digital minilabs and other digital printers.
Peter Carrigan, GSA general manager, says, "The acquisition agreement will make little or no difference to the marketing and distribution of Fujifilm printing-related products to the local market. GSA remains the exclusive distributor in the region for Fujifilm graphic arts products and we will continue to work very closely with Fuji to deliver the best possible products and services to our local users.
"We welcome Fuji Photo Film’s direct involvement in the local retail photography market and look forward to further enhancing and promoting the Fuji brand across the region."
This acquisition enables Fuji Photo Film to develop and carry out its marketing strategies through its new subsidiaries directly in Oceania, in addition to those already existing in North America, South America, Europe and Asia, in unison on a global basis.
At the same time, Fujifilm intends to keep in close contact with the local markets and adopts schemes to fulfill the local needs in every imaging business area. By so doing, Fujifilm hopes to contribute substantially to the growth of the photographic and imaging industries in both the Australian and New Zealand markets.
As of March 2003, sales by the Hanimex Australasia total $282m on a consolidated basis.
