[Leica] Re: How to mangae a camera company?

["Paul T. Collura" <pcollura@epix.net>]

>

Excellent post Tom.  I will not pretend to have the knowledge to guide Leica Solms or to
be able to advise Herr Cohn  (btw, I like the title Herr especially when applied to a
GERMAN).  I do think that the M6 while representing the end point in the development of
Leica's vision of a rangefinder system does need to be upgraded with an electronic
shutter and higher flash sync speeds.  The R system should be retained but dump the bulky
and UGLY R8 and start over with something more ergonomically pleasing.  I think R lens
prices are hurting R sales.  Really, who has this kind of money? And even if you are
wealthy can you spend these sums in good conscience of lenses if you are not a
professional photographer?  A few choice lenses will cost more than a car or my first
home.  Does anybody have the modular tele system??  Yet this is what is needed for a
photo trip to Africa which I plan to do in the future.  The prices of these lenses
mandates buying a different SLR system to get  more "affordable" long tele lenses. Should
Leica couple their expensive lens with some promotion to get more units sold and
therefore lower the unit cost?  I don' know but I think the current plan is on a
collision course with market realities.

Paul


> Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1999 01:46:47 EDT
> From: TTAbrahams@aol.com
> Subject: Re: [Leica] How to manage a camera company?
>
> Leica AG is in a bit of trouble, no doubt about that, but we should also
> remember that corporations in Europe and in Asia operate under different
> "time" frames than the US/Canadian model. They do have a more than a 3-6
> month "instant gratification" approach. What would worry me is more along the
> line of a buyout or take over by some corporate "shark". The Leica name has a
> certain cache, similar to that of Rolex, Louis Vuitton or for that matter
> Rolls Royce or Bentley. It could easily be bought and sold of piecemeal for a
> rather substantial profit.
>  What is needed now is a "decisive moment", corporately speaking.  The name
> Leica is well known and unfortunately, from a profit point of view, most of
> the sales are in used Leicas and that does not benefit the current company.
> So what that the MP's sell for $18-20 000 today, Leica sold them for $ 400 in
> 1957 and does not benefit from the "collectible" prices today. In fact, it
> could be a major "career move" to have the company disappear and pushing the
> collectible prices even higher. This would of course leave us users in a dire
> spot!
>  The current renaissance in 39 screwmount lenses (and cameras) and the new
> M-mount Konica will put pressure on Leica to hold on to its niche market. The
> Cosina lenses are extremely good value for money, the 15/4,5 because of its
> unique position of being good quality and affordable and the rest of the
> line-up is as good. The 25/4 Snap-Shot Skopar is very sharp and contrasty and
> its lack of rangefinder coupling is less of a problem than I initially
> thought. The 35/1,7 is a lower-priced alternative to the pre-Asph Summicron
> 35 and the 50/1,5 Nokton is actually superior to the Summilux 50/1,4 at less
> than 40% of the cost! The 75 is a portable version of that focal length, it
> is not as good as the 75/1,4, but it is a very good piece of glass in its own
> right. Cosina/Voigtlander's approach is similar to Leica of the 60's. Give
> the customer what he/she wants and they will buy. Look at the array of
> finders and adapters that they introduced with the lenses. There was
> evidently some good market planning going on there! Cosina is currently
> selling between 700 and 1000 Voigtlander Bessa-L with the 15/4,5 and the 25/4
> a month in GERMANY!
>  The Konica M-mount is an interesting concept and although it will create a
> lot of interest and probably sell quite well, Konica has one problem. The
> M-mount camera was conceived and designed when the Yen/$ was 140/$ and
> released with the 104/$. This has already given that camera an almost 35%
> disadvantage in the market place. Can you imagine a M-mount, fully loaded
> Hexar (1/4000 and 1/200 flash synch) for $ 1100 instead of today's
> $1500-1600. That would really have damaged the sales of NEW M6. Now the two
> cameras will be competing on an almost level playing field and in that match,
> my money is on the Leica.
>  The R-system is a marketing disaster. The R8 was too big, (sales are slow in
> Asia and one reason is that the camera is difficult to hold if you have
> smallish hands, or even average sized hands), too many problem in the early
> batches and the features on the camera were 10 years out of date! No wonder
> that used R7's are going in up in price. The debacle of the R8 Motor was
> inexcusable; you cannot sell a camera targeted to the professional market and
> say "Sorry, some essential accessories will be another couple of years in
> coming"! One of the big problem that Leica/Solms has had in the last decade
> or so, is that they have not "sold" the cameras, but trusted that the cameras
> reputation would continue to promote it on its own. The advertising and
> promotion in Europe is better than here in North America, where the marketing
> truly "sucks"!
>  New products are not the only answer to Leica Solms woes. They also have to
> learn how to sell the existing line and keep their promises in regard to
> deliveries. There is nothing as irritating as an organization that keep
> promising a product and cannot keep the delivery times. It can be difficult
> at times to do so (I know from personal experience), but then state this at
> the time of introduction.
>  What could be done within the current framework of products is to upgrade
> the lenses still left intact in the M-system (28/2,8, 50/1,4 and possibly the
> 50/2). Yes, a new AE M6 TTL would be nice, but it is not an essential
> product. Take the money instead and spend it on promoting the M6 TTL and
> negotiate a deal with Konica for joint sales of the Hexar-M (if Hasselblad
> can do it with Fuji - and that was even a different film-size!) it could be
> done. It is unrealistic today to expect a smallish operation like Leica/Solms
> to develop a brand new camera, particularly one that involves technology that
> is unproven (within Leica/Solms that is). Rather than getting in to a fight,
> join forces.
>  My favourite idea for the M-camera is the digital back for it. Take off the
> baseplate and back door, clip in a CCD back and memory "pack" and now your
> old DS M3 and its 50DR is shooting digital images. Want to go back to
> shooting Tri-X, unclip the digital back and put the old backdoor/baseplate
> back on. At the moment most of the CCD are ½ frame or smaller, make an
> auxiliary finder that goes on top and folds down over the existing viewfinder
> window. Make the back a separate unit from the memory/battery pack and when
> larger CCD are available these can be designed to be plugged in (or the
> reverse, larger memory packs can be adapted to the existing CCD).
>  The R-system could be kept around, the R6-2 is selling well and allow other
> manufacturers to buy Leica optics and adapt these lenses to their camera
> bodies. Sell out what exists of the R-8 and kill it. It is becoming what the
> SL2-Mot was. Each of the SL2-Mot's made and sold, represented a 1000 DM loss
> to Leica!
> Remember the R-4. When you make a mistake, cut the losses rather than try to
> keep it alive beyond what is economically reasonable.
> Tom A
>
> Tom Abrahamsson
> www.rapidwinder.com
>
>
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> End of Leica Users digest V12 #56
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