Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2009/11/11

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Subject: [Leica] Voigtländer Germany - a lie, a pile of baloney, or a marketing ploy?
From: douglas.sharp at gmx.de (Douglas Sharp)
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:07:18 +0100
References: <C71FCB00.586AD%mark@rabinergroup.com>

Are you being intentionally obtuse?

1) Brand name owner and distributor Ringfoto GmbH & ALFO Marketing KG, 
since 1997  (NOT Cosina - Cosina is the brand name licensee)
2) The trademark - "Voigtl?nder Germany, since 1756" (this was 
stipulated by the brand name owner as one of the licensing conditions) - 
sometimes shortened to "Voigtl?nder Germany - Made in Japan" e.g. on 
camera baseplates, or simply Voigtl?nder on top decks
3) The brand name Voigtl?nder
4) The product name - Skopar, Bessa (or whatever)
5) The origin - Made in Japan

The only real error here is that Voigtl?nder was founded in Austria 
(Vienna) in 1756, not in Germany.

Nowhere on my Voigtl?nder boxes (around 10 in all, German market 
version) can you read "Voigtl?nder Germany", only "Voigtl?nder since 1756".

I reckon if Ringfoto had stipulated "Voigtl?nder Deutschland", you 
wouldn't have complained.

BTW: an Olympus box I have reads Olympus Optical Co. (Europe GmbH) - 
Made in Japan.

Do you also demand that hamburgers are made in Hamburg or that 
Frankfurters and Wieners are made in Frankfurt or Vienna? :-)

Douglas (Germany, although made in England)



Mark Rabiner wrote:
>> Just relax Mark. Voigtl?nder made cameras that not enough people wanted 
>> to buy
>> and went bankrupt. History does not matter in the marketplace, only what 
>> you
>> can do for your customers now. At least the name had some commercial 
>> value to
>> it, so just be happy that whoever went bankrupt with the company was able 
>> to
>> recover at least something.
>>
>> I for one applaud Cosina's product line--I do not like all their stuff, 
>> but
>> their line of good quality, low cost rangefinders and lenses provided an 
>> entry
>> into the rangefinder (and hence possibly Leica) world for many, and 
>> expanded
>> the possible universe for those of us who already own Leica bodies. My
>> 1.2/35mm Cosina/Voigtl?nder is superb, and particularly at 1.2 it beats 
>> the
>> Summilux hands down ;-)
>>
>> Nathan
>>     
>
> Voigtl?nder?
> I thought the name was "Voigtl?nder Germany"?
>
>
>
> Mark William Rabiner
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>
>   


Replies: Reply from mark at rabinergroup.com (Mark Rabiner) ([Leica] Voigtländer Germany - a lie, a pile of baloney, or a marketing ploy?)
Reply from philippe.amard at sfr.fr (Philippe Amard) ([Leica] Voigtländer Germany - a lie, a pile of baloney, or a marketing ploy?)
In reply to: Message from mark at rabinergroup.com (Mark Rabiner) ([Leica] Voigtländer Germany - a lie, a pile of baloney, or a marketing ploy?)