Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2005/06/01

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Subject: [Leica] GOOD NEWS FROM LEICA
From: bdcolen at comcast.net (B. D. Colen)
Date: Wed Jun 1 07:07:45 2005

Do any of the fanboys want to explain to the more skeptical amongst us what
in all of yesterday's releases and PR blather suggest that the company is
taking a new tack that will give it a better chance to survive? Where's the
real news? 

On 6/1/05 9:31 AM, "Timothy Atherton" <tim@kairosphoto.com> wrote:

> More following:
> 
>> Leica announced the following today [June 1,2005]
>>  
>>  
>> "Dear ladies and gentlemen,
>> 
>> By agreeing to the capital measures  proposed by Leica
>> Camera AG's Board of Management and the Supervisory
>> Board, the company has taken a decisive step on the way
>> to overcoming  the financial crisis. A comprehensive report
>> will supply you with further  details.
> 
> 
> All Associated Press News
> FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) - Shareholders of Germany's struggling Leica
> Camera AG approved a plan Tuesday to raise 23 million euros ($28.4
> million) in a share sale aimed at allowing the company to continue
> funding its operations.
> 
> Swiss executive Josef Spichtig, who was named chief executive in April,
> proposed the plan after the Solms-based company's banks cut off lines of
> credit earlier this year. He predicted the company won't break even
> before 2006 at the earliest.
> 
> "We know that no short-term miracles are to be expected," he told the
> shareholders, who included representatives of luxury retailer Hermes and
> Austrian Capital Management, which hold some 60 percent of the company's
> shares between them.
> 
> Spichtig said the company would seek to offer more digital products,
> including the Digital Modul-R, a back that gives Leica's analog models
> the capability to become digital. Leica is also expected to partner with
> a yet as unnamed company to make compact cameras, and continue
> production of its upscale M- and R-series.
> 
> "Leica is not meant to become a small shop for the nostalgic, but a way
> to connect tradition with innovation in a meaningful way and grow
> again," he said.
> 
> Leica shares were down 4.3 percent to 2.44 euros ($3.01) in late
> afternoon trading in Frankfurt.
> 
> Spichtig became CEO after Ralf Coenen agreed to step down, the second
> such move in 10 months. Coenen was named CEO in January and replaced
> Hanns-Peter Cohn, who left to be the head of Vitra AG, a Swiss furniture
> maker. Cohn had been CEO since 1999.
> 
> The company posted a fiscal year 2004-2005 net loss of 15.5 million
> euros ($19.1 million), more than 14 million euros ($17.3 million) it had
> forecast.
> 
> Founded in 1849 as a maker of microscopes, Leica became a brand of
> choice for photographers seeking high-end, handmade 35mm cameras. Its
> first model was invented in 1914 by Oskar Barnack, but not sold until
> 1925. The company has nearly 1,300 workers in Germany.
> 
> ___
> 
> On the Net:
> 
> http://www.leica-camera.com
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
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Replies: Reply from rangefinder at screengang.com (Didier Ludwig) ([Leica] GOOD NEWS FROM LEICA)
In reply to: Message from tim at KairosPhoto.com (Timothy Atherton) ([Leica] GOOD NEWS FROM LEICA)