Porters five forces of the Japanese Animation industry

Porters five forces of the Japanese Animation industry

The Porters five forces is an industry analysis model that identifies and analyses the competitive forces that shape a particular industry, hence determining its strengths and weaknesses (Porter, 2016). The five forces include competition, the potential of new entrants, the power of suppliers, the power of customers and the threat of substitute products. This section applies the model to the Japanese animated films industry.[G1] [G2] [G3] [G4]

Competition in the industry

There are about 430 players in the industry, employing many people that are involved in this industry. The many players in this industry, who deal with almost similar products ensures that stakeholders such as production houses, TV stations, financial partners, advertising agencies and workers in the industry have a large pool of players to choose from.

Potential of new entrants into the industry

The film and animation industry is always evolving, with technology enabling many options. This not only ensures that there is a quality film but also makes it easy for other players to join the industry. The fairly low cost of making a film (Y13M), means that many players could still join the industry as long as they can make films that are well received by the market. The rather liberal financial markets, a strong economy, and low-interest rates also [G5] [G6] allow borrowers to easily access capital required in the industry.[G7]

Power of suppliers

Suppliers in this industry are powerful, in that they are mostly involved in critical stages of the project such as advertising, production, and distribution.[G8] In this case, they can easily influence prices, especially if they worked in a cartel-like manner. While this is an unlikely scenario, their hold on the industry cannot be ignored as it may be costly to hop from one supplier to another.

Power of customers

Customers, in this case, include the TV stations that air the programs, as well as the general public that purchase or view these films.[G9] [G10] Due to a large number of customers, their power is reduced since they may not be in a position to influence prices. [G11] [G12]

Threat of substitute products

The Japanese anime industry, which was once frowned upon, is now a readily accepted industry, even to the general public. The general acceptance also means that the threat of substitutes is still high. The ease with which it is to get into the industry, and also to make a film, means that it is easy to come up with substitute products which would easily be accepted by the market.

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