Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/11/01
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Friends: Two days before the annual meeting of the LeicaCard members took place, I got a message from the LeicaCard service department that I could attend (as you remember, I had been told before that it was too late). So I left for Wetzlar Friday morning Oct. 30. The meeting took place at the Mercure hotel in Wetzlar on Friday Oct. 30 (from 4 pm on) and Saturday morning Oct. 31. The trip by train via Brussels and Köln to Wetzlar went smoothly, but due to heavy and continuous rainfalls all over Western Europe since a couple of weeks, it was obvious that the rivers have difficulty in absorbing all this extra water. Floadings all over the place. The low lands bordering the Lahn river that flows through Wetzlar are covered with water! Some roads are inaccesible. And in Solms, the water almost reaches the railway next to the Leica factory! After arriving in Wetzlar and checking in at the Mercure hotel, a Leica courtesy bus took interested LeicaCard members to the factory in Solms for a guided tour of the factory. This was my second tour (the first one was at the occasion of the Leica Akademie seminar in English at the end of September), but what you see remains impressive. Unfortunately, and although it was only 3 pm, most of the manufacturing and assembling areas were already quite deserted (people can leave early as they often start early in the morning). When one sees the very laborious and time-consuming work done by the "magicians" at the factory, it is no wonder that prices for Leica products must be steep. It was also the occasion to meet a couple of Leica people at Solms. The LeicaCard member meeting itself took place in Wetzlar, at the Mercure hotel, from 4 pm onwards. My guess is there were about 250 persons attending, all Germans (with the exception of two Belgians...), which is only natural as the LeicaCard is unfortunately only available in Germany (or some other European countries on explicit request, but the whole LeicaCard program is in German and geared towards activities in Germany). Hosts were Mr. Hagenauer (head of the PR department) and Isabel Ulzenheimer (LeicaCard service center). The first briefing was on the financial results of the past fiscal year 97-98 and Q1 of the new fiscal year. For figures, see the relevant pages on the Leica internet site. A couple of interesting observations: - - as you all know, the financial results of the past fiscal year were not too spectacular. The expectations for a big uptake, especially in the R section, could not be realized. This had a negative impact on the value of Leica shares, not only for shareholders but also for the many Leica employees who detain Leica shares. - - the figures for Q1 of the new fiscal year show a dramatic decrease in sales of R equipment (more than -40%) and a stagnation in M sales (minus a couple of percent). The uptake of compact cameras is, on the other hand, also dramatic (more than double increase, due to the effect of the new Minilux Zoom). It was confirmed by the spokesman, although he could not give any detailed figures on Q2 (the official release is not yet authorized), that the negative R trend is continuing in Q2. This led to a couple of sceptic remarks and questions from the audience. It is not clear how the R will be developing further. Of course, one has to take into consideration that, when comparing the Q1 figures with Q1 of last year, there was at that time the effect of the appearance of the then-new R8 on the market (a lot of pent-up demand), which is over by now. Although I am a confirmed R fan, one can not refrain from thinking what this development is holding for the future. In the rangefinder market, Leica has clearly a competitive advantage and a solid reputation. But the reflex market is much more competitive, and prospective buyers of high-value equipment have a much wider choice (Nikon F5, Canon EOS1N, Canon EOS3 etc.). Here it is much more difficult to make the case for a competitive advantage for Leica, especially when comparing the excellent Leica lenses to the also excellent professional Nikon and Canon L lenses). Now that Q2 of the new fiscal year is apparently confirming the trend of Q1, one might suggest that the R8 "effect" is as good as over. Those who were interested, already got the camera, and now it is up to Leica to create and stimulate a new demand and market. That explains the action "Test our best" where interested people could testdrive a Leica R8 (but unfortunately with the 28-70 Sigma made zoom, which is not exactly what Leica is all about). A pity this action was only limited to Germany. There is no comparable action in Belgium or any other European country that I am aware of. The Leica spokesperson has confirmed that the company will develop strategies to remedy the dire straits the R appears to be in. It is in my opinion high time the R8.2 with electronically aided focusing and, somewhat later, the R9 with full autofocus capability (although with new lenses) came to market. The first could easily be achieved by offering an internal upgrade for existing R8 bodies as the mechanism would work with existing ROM-equipped lenses. No mentioning of either of these developments though. - - a very important thing to note is that almost 2/3 of Leica's sales are now made abroad, that is outside of Germany. This clearly shows the further internationalization of the Camera Group. Leica has gained impressive sales increases in the USA, France, UK, and until the Asian crisis also in Asia. Q1 figures suggest that the figures for Asia are overcoming the crisis in the region again (especially in Japan). After the financial briefing, the audience was showed the new Leica videotape that was made just before Photokina and which I already mentioned in an earlier posting in September. It is an excellent tape that gives a good insight into development, manufacturing and production of cameras and lenses, together with other historic facts. It is 13 minutes long and can be bought as a Leica Collection item for 15 DEM in either the German (order number 940363) or English version (order number 942364). Of course, the tape is also a PR instrument, and some comments in it are at times almost lyric and philosophic. The tape ends with the following words: "It will always be the same people who are inspired by the Leica philosophy. People who have come to recognize that certain things in life cannot be bought - they have to be lived. People who tend and cultivate their desires and allow them to grow. Until ultimately deciding on something very special. Leica belongs to the few things in life which never date. One does not purchase a Leica, one invests in creativity. For every Leica is so versatile that one is constantly discovering new aspects. Not of the camera. But of oneself." Needless to say that the audience was very excited after viewing the tape. I am sure if people had been asked to bring their checkbooks, they would have signed another check against some more equipment... ;-) I recommend obtaining and viewing this tape! All LeicaCard members at the meeting received a complimentary copy. Third part of the evening was a briefing of the LeicaCard program by Mr. Hagenauer, head of the Leica PR department. Many more interesting things are planned for next year, among other things, two seminars: a seminar on glamour/erotic photography in Köln and one on macrophotography on the flower island of Mainau (a very recommendable place by the way and a photographer's paradise - on the German-Swiss border in the lake of Konstanz). LeicaCard members clearly want prime access to any new information and product developments. A problem for the LeicaCard service department is that the information cannot be given too early (because it is not officially released yet), or sometimes is given too late (after publication in some other sources such as Leica Fotographie International, or on the internet pages). The new issue of LeicaWorld magazine will appear shortly. I have asked Mr. Hagenauer privately when the LeicaCard will be officially available to non-German residents, referring to the internationalization of the Leica Camera AG. The good news is that he confirms the plans exist, the bad news is that we will have to wait till 2000 (not next year). This is in part understandable because, to make the LeicaCard attractive in foreign markets, the services will have to be country-specific. That means the services will have to be local to some degree, and for that the input and cooperation of the local distributors will be indispensable. That takes some time to be implemented. In the meantime, however, European residents who request to become member, can do so with no problem, as I have experienced myself. The briefings and Q&A's were followed by a buffet dinner, offered by Leica. An ideal occasion to meet fellow Leica enthusiasts in Germany, and exchange useful information on many photography-related topics. After dinner, Reiner Harscher (editor of many excellent books and professional Leica photographer) presented his slide show on the Greek islands in LeicaVision. That was in my view the most impressive part of the whole meeting. 10 Pradovit 2002 slide projectors, all necessary AV equipment, and projections a huge three-panelled screen. Harscher himself gave comments during the projection. The slides were spectacular and showed almost all the Greek islands (from Zakynthos in the west to Rhodos in the east, and Crete in the south). Great available light shots and evening images, and many panoramic views where three slides were shown together so that the image was almost 180°. All images were taken with a mix of R equipment on Fujichrome Velvia and Provia films. The show was a living testimony to the fact that these top films marry well with Leica equipment. On Saturday morning Leica salespeople were showing all the equipment (projectors, scopes, compacts, M, R, digital, Minox). That was in my opinion the least interesting part because the presentation of it was ill-conceived. The program noted "a presentation of the new Photokina developments." Instead of such a presentation we were confronted with a counter like at a photoshop, with people pushing and pressing their way to the counter, blocking the view for others. I didn't see the new Elmarit-R 35-70/2.8 ASPH zoom, BTW, but that's maybe there were too many people around it :-) This part needs some overhaul for next year's meeting. I had expected it to be better organized, and I am not alone with that opinion hearing from some others' remarks. The Digilux could also be tested, and the results were displayed on a 70 cm Grundig TV set. Very impressive results! Unfortunately however, the Digilux does not appear to take the latest 16 MB smartmedia cards which need another voltage. The included 2 MB smartmedia cart can hold two images at the highest resolution. Second part of the morning session was the excellent presentation of Gunther Osterloh (the man from the famous M and R books, and head of the Leica Akademie) on the different Leica Akademie activities for 1999. He showed a lot of slides on all photographic trips undertaken during this year. Spectacular and sometimes breathtaking images from Turkey, Lapland (North of Finland), Austrian Alps, Scotland and Tanzania. It really gave appetite to take part in such photo excursion. Unfortunately, the prices are rather steep, although it is stressed that the excursions are really specially tailored for Leica (private transport, special arrangements and so on). I would be very much interested in Scotland, but at a price of 5,000 DEM per person, this is a tad too expensive to my taste. Another problem is that all these trips depart from Frankfurt airport which is not always convenient for foreigners. I suggest that the Leica Akademie also offers trips without the airtrip from Frankfurt, so that people can get their own plane ticket from their country directly to the destination. Prices start around 1,800 DEM for a trip to Turkey up to 9,400 DEM for the safari to Tanzania. Now, what really was astounding, was that Gunther Osterloh said afterwards that the slides he had shown were all taken with the Minilux Zoom. Incredible, they were excellent. I could almost not believe it. Finally, the meeting was concluded with the showing of the winners of the LeicaCard photo contest. There were some very good images on different topics that had to do with Europe (this was the topic of the contest, subdivided into different categories like people, society, the Euro, culture and so on). The winner of the first prize received a plane ticket to Russia and a Minilux camera. The selection of the images was made by Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA), the German equivalent of Reuters and AFP. Personally I did not find the winning image to be worth the first prize, but that is -as always- a question of taste. I am a rather conventional photographer - my main interest goes towards landscapes and "postcard-like" images which are, unrightly so, too often considered as too classic by many. The winning image depicts two youths, one of them with a colored and punky hairdo - our hope for the future... So, that was the rather long overview of the meeting's activities. I hope it was of some interest to the LUG! Mr. Hagenauer and Isabel Ulzenheimer did a great job and I am looking forward to next year's meeting. There is something very special about the Leica people. It is as if they have a special and very personal relation with their customers. This is very pleasant and is undoubtedly part of the Leica legend and why people develop such brand-awareness and brand-loyalty. The LeicaCard meeting was no exception to that. Mr. Hagenauer himself drove a couple of us back to the station in Wetzlar after the meeting! Pascal Belgium - -------------------------------------------------------- Check out: http://members.xoom.com/cyberplace/ - ------------------------------------------------------- Who else than Leica could make a camera like the R8 ? With that unique design and above all: that ergonomics. Nikon ? Canon ? Nobody but Leica ! - ------------------------------------------------------- <<< PGP public key available on request >>>