Our recent article “Are Western Manufacturers of Video Surveillance Cameras Ready for Commoditization?”, explained why we think Western companies are running out of options in meeting the Chinese “Video Surveillance threat” and that unless they find a quick solution many will struggle over the next five years. The two major Chinese manufacturers Dahua and Hikvision are pursuing a strategy of going for volume. This was initially based on their home market but now they are building up their market share in North America and Europe. They have over the last thee years improved the performance of their products and customer service, whilst selling at significantly lower prices than western manufacturers. Western manufacturers have lowered their margins only to find that Chinese competitors have reduced their prices further. Western manufacturers simply do not have the capacity to reduce prices much further. Whilst Chinese manufacturers have the benefit of a well protected and large home market to […]