[Leica] How many times have Leica died or will die?

[Frank Dernie]

It seems obvious to me that there will always be a tiny number of people for whom a Leica will be the correct choice. At this tiny production volume they will be expensive. Assuming increasing production capability will increase profitability is a not uncommon mistake.
I have been pessimistic for the future of Leica ever since venture capitalists got involved. They do not take a long term view. They are rapists (IMHO).
Rolls-Royce cars used to have a 2 year wait for a new one, and dealers would only accept orders from people who already had one. This kept second hand prices sky high (above list), and it made complete sense for a wealthy individual to buy a new one every year since, apart form the capital tied up, it was cheap motoring. Probably not as good a car as a S-class Mercedes, but very much cheaper to own.
Some bright spark convinced them to increase production to satisfy demand. Once the second hand value collapsed, then the astute people who used to run one stopped. The company went bust and ended up being sold to BMW who continue to make “Rolls-Royces” in small numbers at huge prices.
This is the first time I have been genuinely concerned for the future of Leica.


> On 6 Mar, 2015, at 06:58, Richard Man <richard at richardmanphoto.com> wrote:
> 
> Of course it's different each time of course Leica must change. Every
> company must change and adapt....
> 
> On Thu, Mar 5, 2015 at 10:37 PM, Frank Filippone <red735i at verizon.net>
> wrote:
> 
>> It will be ... different.....
>> 
>> Leica must change with the user demand.  ( Remember the M8?)
>> 
>> Frank Filippone
>> Red735i at verizon.net
>> 
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: LUG [mailto:lug-bounces+red735i=verizon.net at leica-users.org] On
>> Behalf
>> Of Richard Man
>> Sent: Thursday, March 05, 2015 10:21 PM
>> To: Leica Users Group
>> Subject: [Leica] How many times have Leica died or will die?
>> 
>> It's notably that Apple at 2000, was dying. So bad that Steve Job had to
>> bargained with his nemesis, Bill Gates. Since 1984, many epitaphs have been
>> written for Apple. In 2015, Apple is now the largest company in the world
>> (*cautious people always jump in and say - for now - *).
>> 
>> Wasn't Leica in trouble in the late 40s until they came out with the Leica
>> M3?
>> 
>> Wasn't Leica "close to death" in the 70s with the onslaught of the SLR
>> (without the 'd')?
>> 
>> Didn't Leica become irrelevant in the mid 2000s because everyone has gone
>> digital?
>> 
>> Leica may be gone by end of 2015, or may be it will surprise everyone
>> again.
>> We shall see...
>> 
>> --
>> // richard <http://www.richardmanphoto.com> //
>> http://facebook.com/richardmanphoto
>> // https://www.facebook.com/Transformations.CosplayPortraits
>> 
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>> 
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
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>> 
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> // richard <http://www.richardmanphoto.com>
> // http://facebook.com/richardmanphoto
> // https://www.facebook.com/Transformations.CosplayPortraits
> 
> _______________________________________________
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