Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/06/02
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Sounds like he is coming up with a partner to me. The fastest way to market is to OEM somebody else's product, like Hasselblad did with the Fuji / HB XPan. Should be really interesting to see. Hey, maybe they'll have a fire sale on M6 bodies, like 2 for 1 or something. They may even sell enough to break even at that price. :-o Wonder if LUGites will have first crack at them?? ;-). PK - -----Original Message----- From: Christer Almqvist [mailto:chris@almqvist.net] Sent: Wednesday, June 02, 1999 5:49 PM To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us Subject: [Leica] New M-6 Version - now official Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the German quality newspaper, published an interview with Hanns-Peter Cohn, the chairman of the Leica Camera AG board, on 29 May. Following is a summary of the main points: 1. Strong cost reductions and introduction of new models shall make Leica Camera AG profitable again next year. First half of the current year will bring a loss, but a break-even will be achieved for the full fiscal that ends March 2000 2. New products include a compact camera, now called 'Metal 3', for less than DM 1,000 ($ 500-600) towards the end of the year, and a digital camera for amateurs for DM 1,500 3. For next year's Photokina there will be a new version of the M6 'with more comfort', but the old version will be continued. 4. The stock market price was 24 Euro when the company went public in September 96, it was 6.40 on 1 April, 14.50 on 30th April and is now II.00 Euro. Cohn promised to quadruple the stock market value within six years. 5. There is a savings target of 15% for all departments and purchase prices are to be lowered by 2%. Stocks are to be reduced as is material usage. 6. Ignaz Lopez (ex Volkswagen) is not going to join the board. A Hamburg share owners' group had suggested this, stating they had 15% of the shares. Leica say they do not have 15% and that the group tries to manipulate share price. A share buy back program is planned and the shares so acquired shall be sold to staff. Separately, the 'Effectensspiegel', a well circulated stock market magazine, has Leica on its list of recommended stock this week, stating a target of 13 - 14 Euro - -- christer almqvist eichenstrasse 57, d-20255 hamburg, fon +49-40-407111 fax +49-40-4908440 14 rue de la hauteur, f-50590 regnéville-sur-mer, fon+fax +33-233 45 35 58