[Leica] S2 success (or lack thereof)

[douglas.sharp at gmx.de (Douglas Sharp)]

Richard,

the fact is that Leica have been absolutely overwhelmed 
by the success of the M9 and the S2. The are working 
their wotsits off trying to catch up with an order 
backlog like they've never seen before.  It doesn't 
matter one iota who is buying the gear - if it is 
making Leica a going concern, we can all be happy. 
Leica is doing a lot of PR trying to make the S2 better 
known to professionals (at least in Germany, so far) 
and has, as yet, had only positive feedback - even down 
to things like how long you can shoot with one battery 
charge.

Maybe lots of potentates and oligarchs are buying it, 
but so what - the more S2s there are out there, the 
more people become aware of it and the brand, and more 
will be ordered and sold.

As to the M9Ti, the book that's included with it states 
clearly that it is Leica's "concept car" and has 
features that could be employed in later models.

The new design is clear, simple and unostentatious - 
precisely what Leicas have been right from the word go 
- maybe purists don't like it, but purists even shied 
away from the idea of a digital Leica R (sacrilege!!)at 
first,  and when they didn't get one (R10), they all 
started moaning.

Is there a better way of paying for your R+D costs? I 
doubt it. A very clever move by Leica, and one that 
highlights their joint sponsoring efforts with the VW 
Group (and Audi as a premium brand)  e.g. 
http://www.sbc2010.de/ It's pretty obvious where their 
target groups are - and it's not us.

Leica are getting their products placed in the rarified 
atmosphere of premium events like this and are 
accessing the segments where money is no object.

Good for Leica! Their radical turnaround project has 
worked (although a gamble) and the company is on a 
relatively firm financial footing for what is, after 
all, a very small company. They still have quite a way 
to go, and I, for one, wish them well.

It is perhaps interesting to note that what turned 
Leica around was the fact that they declined to produce 
what Leicaphiles were asking for and went their own way 
for a change.

Maybe dyed-in-the-wool Leicaphiles are what was holding 
them back - now they've thrown this age-old 
conservatism out of the window they seem to be back and 
doing rather well.

Cheers
Douglas

On 20.12.2010 11:07, Richard Man wrote:
> Come on guys. I know no one controls where a thread goes, but do we have to
> hijack it to yet another rant against M9Ti or whatever horse$hit that
> someone happens not to like?
>
> My conjecture is that just based on some random but imho educated guesses,
> the S2 will do all right by Leica. No one has either call BS on it or agree
> to it, but yet another tangential rant.
>
>
>