[Leica] Are we no longer wanted?

[hopsternew at gmail.com (Geoff Hopkinson)]

Some folks with lots of spare funds might buy Leica because it is stylish or
elegant or higher status or whatever. Good for them. It helps Leica which
helps other users too. Who knows, some of your investment bankers may shoot
with their new cameras and get addicted.
Keen enthusiasts will find the money or build their outfits as they can and
choose Leica for the reasons we choose Leica.
 Point of interest. The Summilux 50 ASPH. outsells the much cheaper and
still by all accounts excellent Summarit 50  by 2:1
Why would that be?

2009/6/21 Jayanand Govindaraj <jayanand at gmail.com>

> Douglas,
> This has been evident for years now. They have been targeting rich
> investment bankers and their ilk, not you and me. It became quite obvious
> with the M8 advertising campaign, which was far more prominent in the
> GQ/Esquire type magazines rather than hardcore photography magazines. It
> was
> also heavily featured in the "fashion tech" pages (alongside the Ipod,etc)
> of those magazines. But if truth be told, the bankers would buy new, and we
> would buy second hand...
> Cheers
> Jayanand
>
>
> On Sun, Jun 21, 2009 at 3:50 AM, Douglas Sharp <douglas.sharp at gmx.de>
> wrote:
>
> > I was looking up things Leica on the Web recently and noticed the number
> of
> > hits that turn up for Leica on "lifestyle" pages.
> >
> > It didn't seem to work after their flutter with Hermes, but now they seem
> > to have got their products prominently "placed", or even "positioned" (in
> > the words of the world of marketing)
> >
> > No more mention of precision optics and superb engineering - it's all
> > turned into up-market hype about the special finish, how they look and if
> > they have a perfectly matching bag... everything in black, white, olive
> > green, titanium and silver seems to be the name of the game.
> >
> >
> > The opening of the new Leica Shop in Moscow's uppest-market residential
> and
> > shopping quarter at the end of May seems to be following the same trend.
> I
> > wouldn't be surprised to find cameras in gold and royal blue with a
> double
> > eagle or in Faberge enamel soon, packed in a matching Faberge easter egg.
> >
> > Then Ferrari red, Bugatti blue, Mercedes silver and, and, and.........
> >
> > The higher prices are obviously already a unique and exclusive selling
> > point for people who want to be seen with a Leica as a lifestyle
> accessory.
> >
> > The M8 Safari is almost sold out, the White Edition has gone completely,
> a
> > D-Lux 4 Titan and a D-Lux 4 Safari are selling well.
> >
> > This is all very good for Leica, but I think it bodes ill for the former
> > target group to which we all most probably belong.
> >
> >
> > Cheers
> > Douglas
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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> >
>
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>



-- 
Cheers
Geoff
'Life's not B&W, except at both ends'
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/gh/
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