Re: Ricoh direct marketing cue wailing and moaning and gnashing of teeth

[John Francis]

On Sat, Jan 22, 2022 at 03:34:45PM -0500, John Sessoms wrote:
> > We've still got San Jose Camera & Video (which, come to think of it,is
> > where I bought my PZ-1p), but now they're pretty much limited to just
> > the big brands (Canon, Nikon, Sony, Panasonic & Fuji).
> 
> I have vague memories of when Pentax was one of the "big brands".

Yep. But my memories of the '70s are also vague (and getting vaguer).
But I bought my Spotmatic II (and, later, my MX and ME) back then.
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Re: Ricoh direct marketing cue wailing and moaning and gnashing of teeth

[John Sessoms]

We've still got San Jose Camera & Video (which, come to think of it,is
where I bought my PZ-1p), but now they're pretty much limited to just
the big brands (Canon, Nikon, Sony, Panasonic & Fuji).


I have vague memories of when Pentax was one of the "big brands".



On 1/21/2022 5:31 PM, John Francis wrote:

On Fri, Jan 21, 2022 at 11:37:29AM -0800, Larry Colen wrote:


I don???t know how many brick and mortar camera stores there are in the Bay 
Area.  I???ve seen cameras at some of the big box electronics stores, but no 
Pentax. Keeble and Shuchat in Palo Alto which had been around for decades, with 
two shops across the street from each other went out of business a few years 
back. There seems to be a Samy's in SF.


We've still got San Jose Camera & Video (which, come to think of it, is where I 
bought my PZ-1p), but now they're pretty much limited to just the big brands (Canon, 
Nikon, Sony, Panasonic & Fuji).

Mike's Camera does have a few Bay Area branches, including one in Menlo Park. 
They offer a slightly wider selection (they include Olympus), and also some 
third-party lenses (Tamron, Sigma, ...).  But many of the items they show on 
their website are marked as 'not available in stores'.
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Re: Ricoh direct marketing cue wailing and moaning and gnashing of teeth

[Alan C]

In SA there are still several "Brick & Mortar" camera stores in the big 
cities selling mostly Canon & Nikon but no new Pentax. S/H traded-in 
Pentax products become available from time to time. Foto First are the 
Pentax distributors in SA through their Online store. They sell Canon, 
Nikon & Fuji too. Foto First also has a chain of stores throughout the 
country (formerly photo shops) specialising in photo prints, scanning & 
photobooks but hardly a camera in store. They are highly patronised by 
the growing army of street photographers!  However, the faint hearted, 
fearful of online transactions, may order cameras through their local 
branch. Stores like Game & Makro (Walmart) also sell low range Canon & 
Nikon products.


Alan C

On 21-Jan-22 09:37 PM, Larry Colen wrote:



On Jan 21, 2022, at 11:02 AM, John Sessoms  wrote:

We still have two "brick & mortar" camera stores here in Raleigh.

Neither one is a Pentax dealer, although one of them tried to make a go of it 
in the last decade - I bought both my K-3 and K-1 locally from that store.


I don’t know how many brick and mortar camera stores there are in the Bay Area. 
 I’ve seen cameras at some of the big box electronics stores, but no Pentax. 
Keeble and Shuchat in Palo Alto which had been around for decades, with two 
shops across the street from each other went out of business a few years back. 
There seems to be a Samy's in SF.

I got my first Pentax because I overheard the guy at San Jose camera talking to 
someone else about how he has one and what he likes about it.  I was leaning 
towards Nikon, he was pushing harder on Canon, but I really hated the feel of 
the low end Canon gear.  At one point, even Fry’s carried Pentax, now Fry’s is 
gone too.



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Re: Ricoh direct marketing cue wailing and moaning and gnashing of teeth

[John Francis]

On Fri, Jan 21, 2022 at 11:37:29AM -0800, Larry Colen wrote:
> 
> I don???t know how many brick and mortar camera stores there are in the Bay 
> Area.  I???ve seen cameras at some of the big box electronics stores, but no 
> Pentax. Keeble and Shuchat in Palo Alto which had been around for decades, 
> with two shops across the street from each other went out of business a few 
> years back. There seems to be a Samy's in SF. 

We've still got San Jose Camera & Video (which, come to think of it, is where I 
bought my PZ-1p), but now they're pretty much limited to just the big brands 
(Canon, Nikon, Sony, Panasonic & Fuji).

Mike's Camera does have a few Bay Area branches, including one in Menlo Park. 
They offer a slightly wider selection (they include Olympus), and also some 
third-party lenses (Tamron, Sigma, ...).  But many of the items they show on 
their website are marked as 'not available in stores'.
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Re: Ricoh direct marketing cue wailing and moaning and gnashing of teeth

[David J Brooks]

On Fri, Jan 21, 2022 at 2:03 PM John Sessoms  wrote:

>
> They sell plenty of Canon, Nikon & Sony (and 4/3 brands), but I only
> know one other Pentax shooter in my area and he doesn't shop the local
> "brick & mortar" stores (lives in a nearby town about 20 miles away).
>

Before they shut down the Henrys close to my house, about 15 Km away, the
manager told me that myself and one other older gentleman were pretty much
to only people coming in to look at Pentax gear to buy.

>
>
>
>
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Re: Ricoh direct marketing cue wailing and moaning and gnashing of teeth

[Larry Colen]

> On Jan 21, 2022, at 11:02 AM, John Sessoms  wrote:
> 
> We still have two "brick & mortar" camera stores here in Raleigh.
> 
> Neither one is a Pentax dealer, although one of them tried to make a go of it 
> in the last decade - I bought both my K-3 and K-1 locally from that store.
> 

I don’t know how many brick and mortar camera stores there are in the Bay Area. 
 I’ve seen cameras at some of the big box electronics stores, but no Pentax. 
Keeble and Shuchat in Palo Alto which had been around for decades, with two 
shops across the street from each other went out of business a few years back. 
There seems to be a Samy's in SF. 

I got my first Pentax because I overheard the guy at San Jose camera talking to 
someone else about how he has one and what he likes about it.  I was leaning 
towards Nikon, he was pushing harder on Canon, but I really hated the feel of 
the low end Canon gear.  At one point, even Fry’s carried Pentax, now Fry’s is 
gone too.  



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l...@red4est.com


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Re: Ricoh direct marketing cue wailing and moaning and gnashing of teeth

[Ralf R Radermacher]

Am 21.01.22 um 19:38 schrieb John Sessoms:

If you go to Target.com and search for Pentax there are "5 results":
K-70 "Body Only"
K70 w/18-135 Lens
K-3 Mark III with Battery Grip & 64GB SD card
K-3 Mark III with Cleaning Kit, Strap & 64GB SD card
Pentax Papilio II 8.5x21 Porro Prism Binoculars


Just two examples, one 70 km and the other one a 5 minute walk from
where I'm writing this:

AC-Foto, brick-and-mortar store in Aachen, Germany (population 250,000):
https://ac-foto.com/list/kameras/pentax/dslr-kameras
https://ac-foto.com/list/objektive/pentax/dslr-objektive-0

Foto Gregor, brick-and-mortar store, Cologne, Germany (population 1,000,000)
https://www.foto-gregor.de/#twn%7C%3Ftn_q=pentax

I could go on...

Ralf

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Re: Ricoh direct marketing cue wailing and moaning and gnashing of teeth

[John Sessoms]

We still have two "brick & mortar" camera stores here in Raleigh.

Neither one is a Pentax dealer, although one of them tried to make a go 
of it in the last decade - I bought both my K-3 and K-1 locally from 
that store.


It seems like the demand wasn't there to sustain them.

They sell plenty of Canon, Nikon & Sony (and 4/3 brands), but I only 
know one other Pentax shooter in my area and he doesn't shop the local 
"brick & mortar" stores (lives in a nearby town about 20 miles away).


On 1/21/2022 1:37 PM, Igor PDML-StR wrote:



Rick,
It's been close to 20 years since I've looked at a Pentax camera or lens 
at a brick-and-mortar store in the US.

(That was at Adorama in 2001).

So, all 4 Pentax DSLRs I've owned (and a bunch of Pentax lenses) were 
purchased by mail, - mostly from B&H and Adorama.


With the proposed change (if I understand it correctly), Pentax products 
might no longer be available through B&H, Adorama (and Amazon).
The decrease in the number of channels lowers the competition, and that 
drives the prices up. If Ricoh own outlets will be the only source, 
there will be no big Black Friday/Cyber-Monday sales from B&H/Adorama, 
as those in several pre-pandemic years.


But, as Bill wrote, - Ricoh needs to change something to revive the brand.
The time will tell if they bet on the right horse.


Igor



  Rick Womer Fri, Jan 21, 2022 5:25 PM  wrote:

 From my home in Philadelphia (metro population ~1.6 million), the 
nearest Pentax dealers are B&H and Adorama in New York, a 2 1/2 hour 
drive away.


So, this isn’t going to make shopping I might do any less convenient.

Rick

On Fri, 21 Jan 2022, Igor PDML-StR wrote:



That's a sad news.
But, I am afraid, you missed even a worth one:
"the Pentax and GR camera brands will undergo a dramatic restructuring 
that will see mass production end".

At least, that's the interpretation of PetaPixel.

Curious about what exactly they plan, I've read the translation of the 
original Ricoh announcement.
https://news-ricoh--imaging-co-jp.translate.goog/rim_info/2022/20220120_031454.html?_x_tr_sl=ja&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp 



Just two interesting excerpts from there:
"PENTAX ... We will expand the range of various customization to 
further reflect the needs of our customers and provide workshop value. 
In addition, we will build a system that enables manufacturing 
together with customers from the product planning stage through 
communication through online fan meetings."


"We will shift from a sales method centered on the distribution 
network via retail stores to sales via the Internet to improve the 
efficiency of business operations. In addition to our own EC direct 
sales site, we will develop directly managed malls in major 
marketplaces to expand opportunities and places where Ricoh Imaging 
and customers can directly connect."



I am not sure what type of model they envision, but either it will be 
weird and rejected (like K-01), or it will lay down some new path that 
*might* have a chance to make Pentax great again. (no pun intended)


I hope these innovations will not affect availability and relative 
affordability of the great lenses Pentax still offers. Although, it is 
hard for me to imagine what they are going to do.


Cheers,
Igor


Larry Colen wrote on Fri, Jan 21, 2022 1:43 AM:

https://petapixel.com/2022/01/20/ricoh-to-stop-mass-producing-cameras-sell-direct-to-consumer-only/ 



As of April 1, 2022 (no fooling) Ricoh will stop selling Pentax and GR 
branded cameras through the distribution network and will only sell 
through their own website and branded stores.



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Re: Ricoh direct marketing cue wailing and moaning and gnashing of teeth

[John Sessoms]

I don't see this as a very intelligent move by
Pentax. I'm afraid they'll marginalise themselves even further.


I'm afraid they've already been marginalized so much that this is a 
*desperation* move.


They were already going downhill BEFORE Hoya effed them over.


On 1/21/2022 11:11 AM, Ralf R Radermacher wrote:

Am 21.01.22 um 16:15 schrieb Bill:


Or, they can do all their selling direct to their customers online,
where most people are shopping anyway and drop inventories to
practically zero.


This might work in some markets but not in others. Germany still has
decent brick-and-mortar photo stores in all bigger cities, offering good
service, advice and the possibility to touch and try things in the
store. Prices there are not or only marginally higher than online.

While dealers like Foto Gregor in Cologne or AC-Foto in Aachen still
offer all other brands, I don't see this as a very intelligent move by
Pentax. I'm afraid they'll marginalise themselves even further.

Still, it's their business and they can ruin it any way they like.

Ralf

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Re: Ricoh direct marketing cue wailing and moaning and gnashing of teeth

[John Sessoms]

If you go to Target.com and search for Pentax there are "5 results":
K-70 "Body Only"
K70 w/18-135 Lens
K-3 Mark III with Battery Grip & 64GB SD card
K-3 Mark III with Cleaning Kit, Strap & 64GB SD card
Pentax Papilio II 8.5x21 Porro Prism Binoculars

All sold and shipped by Focus Camera "a Target Plus partner"

Best Buy had nothing.

But Amazon has several K-70 & K-3 Mark III options including a K-1 Mark 
II (Only 20 left in Stock) ... and they have some lenses.


Plus a sponsored link to Ricoh ... "Shop Pentax Imaging Company".

On 1/21/2022 10:15 AM, Bill wrote:

On 1/20/2022 8:14 PM, Daniel J. Matyola wrote:

A company can't just "get someone" to sell its products.  It has to
actively promote the products and develop partnerships with retailers and
distributors.  Ricoh does that with copiers;  why can't it do that 
with its

cameras?



I suspect I misunderstood your post regarding what are they thinking.

The market has moved towards online shopping anyway, camera stores are 
on the decline, and box stores don't want to sell low volume expensive 
stuff. They are into Canon Rebels and lower, not Pentax K3 class cameras 
and higher.
The nice thing about selling online is that inventories can be kept very 
small. If Pentax were going to get themselves into Best Buy as an 
example, they would have to put close to a thousand of each model camera 
they wanted to sell, along with the same number of lenses into the 
system just to have a demo product in each store, presuming they went 
into every Best Buy store. Add to that, some inventory in each store so 
there is something for the store to sell, and it adds up to several 
thousand units just sitting hoping for a buyer.

That's an expensive gamble.
It was a necessary evil before online shopping existed.
Or, they can do all their selling direct to their customers online, 
where most people are shopping anyway and drop inventories to 
practically zero.
They can use the money they save on dead inventory to advertise heavily, 
something they will have to do for this strategy to work.


bill

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Re: Ricoh direct marketing cue wailing and moaning and gnashing of teeth

[Igor PDML-StR]

Rick,
It's been close to 20 years since I've looked at a Pentax camera or lens 
at a brick-and-mortar store in the US.

(That was at Adorama in 2001).

So, all 4 Pentax DSLRs I've owned (and a bunch of Pentax lenses) were 
purchased by mail, - mostly from B&H and Adorama.


With the proposed change (if I understand it correctly), Pentax 
products might no longer be available through B&H, Adorama (and 
Amazon).
The decrease in the number of channels lowers the competition, and that 
drives the prices up. If Ricoh own outlets will be the only source, there 
will be no big Black Friday/Cyber-Monday sales from B&H/Adorama, as those 
in several pre-pandemic years.


But, as Bill wrote, - Ricoh needs to change something to revive the brand.
The time will tell if they bet on the right horse.


Igor



 Rick Womer Fri, Jan 21, 2022 5:25 PM  wrote:

From my home in Philadelphia (metro population ~1.6 million), the nearest 
Pentax dealers are B&H and Adorama in New York, a 2 1/2 hour drive away.


So, this isn’t going to make shopping I might do any less convenient.

Rick

On Fri, 21 Jan 2022, Igor PDML-StR wrote:



That's a sad news.
But, I am afraid, you missed even a worth one:
"the Pentax and GR camera brands will undergo a dramatic restructuring that 
will see mass production end".

At least, that's the interpretation of PetaPixel.

Curious about what exactly they plan, I've read the translation of the 
original Ricoh announcement.

https://news-ricoh--imaging-co-jp.translate.goog/rim_info/2022/20220120_031454.html?_x_tr_sl=ja&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp

Just two interesting excerpts from there:
"PENTAX ... We will expand the range of various customization to further 
reflect the needs of our customers and provide workshop value. In addition, 
we will build a system that enables manufacturing together with customers 
from the product planning stage through communication through online fan 
meetings."


"We will shift from a sales method centered on the distribution network via 
retail stores to sales via the Internet to improve the efficiency of business 
operations. In addition to our own EC direct sales site, we will develop 
directly managed malls in major marketplaces to expand opportunities and 
places where Ricoh Imaging and customers can directly connect."



I am not sure what type of model they envision, but either it will be weird 
and rejected (like K-01), or it will lay down some new path that *might* have 
a chance to make Pentax great again. (no pun intended)


I hope these innovations will not affect availability and relative 
affordability of the great lenses Pentax still offers. Although, it is hard 
for me to imagine what they are going to do.


Cheers,
Igor


Larry Colen wrote on Fri, Jan 21, 2022 1:43 AM:

https://petapixel.com/2022/01/20/ricoh-to-stop-mass-producing-cameras-sell-direct-to-consumer-only/

As of April 1, 2022 (no fooling) Ricoh will stop selling Pentax and GR 
branded cameras through the distribution network and will only sell through 
their own website and branded stores.



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Re: Ricoh direct marketing cue wailing and moaning and gnashing of teeth

[Rick Womer]

From my home in Philadelphia (metro population ~1.6 million), the nearest 
Pentax dealers are B&H and Adorama in New York, a 2 1/2 hour drive away.

So, this isn’t going to make shopping I might do any less convenient.

Rick

> On Jan 21, 2022, at 9:09 AM, Igor PDML-StR  wrote:
> 
> 
> That's a sad news.
> But, I am afraid, you missed even a worth one:
> "the Pentax and GR camera brands will undergo a dramatic restructuring that 
> will see mass production end".
> At least, that's the interpretation of PetaPixel.
> 
> Curious about what exactly they plan, I've read the translation of the 
> original Ricoh announcement.
> https://news-ricoh--imaging-co-jp.translate.goog/rim_info/2022/20220120_031454.html?_x_tr_sl=ja&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp
> 
> Just two interesting excerpts from there:
> "PENTAX ... We will expand the range of various customization to further 
> reflect the needs of our customers and provide workshop value. In addition, 
> we will build a system that enables manufacturing together with customers 
> from the product planning stage through communication through online fan 
> meetings."
> 
> "We will shift from a sales method centered on the distribution network via 
> retail stores to sales via the Internet to improve the efficiency of business 
> operations. In addition to our own EC direct sales site, we will develop 
> directly managed malls in major marketplaces to expand opportunities and 
> places where Ricoh Imaging and customers can directly connect."
> 
> 
> I am not sure what type of model they envision, but either it will be weird 
> and rejected (like K-01), or it will lay down some new path that *might* have 
> a chance to make Pentax great again. (no pun intended)
> 
> I hope these innovations will not affect availability and relative 
> affordability of the great lenses Pentax still offers. Although, it is hard 
> for me to imagine what they are going to do.
> 
> Cheers,
> Igor
> 
> 
> Larry Colen wrote on Fri, Jan 21, 2022 1:43 AM:
> 
> https://petapixel.com/2022/01/20/ricoh-to-stop-mass-producing-cameras-sell-direct-to-consumer-only/
> 
> As of April 1, 2022 (no fooling) Ricoh will stop selling Pentax and GR 
> branded cameras through the distribution network and will only sell through 
> their own website and branded stores.
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Re: Ricoh direct marketing cue wailing and moaning and gnashing of teeth

[Henk Terhell]

Perhaps Ricoh sees a future in selling more expensive customized models
with a variety of themes, designs and colors but with the same machine
inside.
This would be similar to what Casio is doing with their G-shock watches,
likely being under pressure due to the smart watch revolution.
Leica has been following such marketing strategy as well
to a limited extent.

Henk

Op vr 21 jan. 2022 om 02:43 schreef Larry Colen :

>
> https://petapixel.com/2022/01/20/ricoh-to-stop-mass-producing-cameras-sell-direct-to-consumer-only/
>
> As of April 1, 2022 (no fooling) Ricoh will stop selling Pentax and GR
> branded cameras through the distribution network and will only sell through
> their own website and branded stores.
>
> Meanwhile Petapixel had a review of the 21/2.4 saying it’s a great lens,
> it’s too bad that the K-1 mkII sucks.
>
> --
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> l...@red4est.com
>
>
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Re: Ricoh direct marketing cue wailing and moaning and gnashing of teeth

[Bill]

On 1/21/2022 10:11 AM, Ralf R Radermacher wrote:

Am 21.01.22 um 16:15 schrieb Bill:


Or, they can do all their selling direct to their customers online,
where most people are shopping anyway and drop inventories to
practically zero.


This might work in some markets but not in others. Germany still has
decent brick-and-mortar photo stores in all bigger cities, offering good
service, advice and the possibility to touch and try things in the
store. Prices there are not or only marginally higher than online.

While dealers like Foto Gregor in Cologne or AC-Foto in Aachen still
offer all other brands, I don't see this as a very intelligent move by
Pentax. I'm afraid they'll marginalise themselves even further.

Still, it's their business and they can ruin it any way they like.



Germany might be a bit of an outlier. In Canada, we are probably down to 
under a hundred camera stores total for the entire country (land mass 
over 27x that of Germany)

Much of the world now does the bulk of their shopping online.
Sometimes cost cutting doesn't make sense, sometimes it does. Having 
literally millions of dollars tied up in dead inventory, which is what 
happens with demo products and inventory that may or may not sell 
sitting on a store shelf is something that may not make sense.
Everyone has an opinion, I expect the wonks at Ricoh are looking at the 
bigger picture. You may think they are ruining their business, but then, 
you aren't running a camera company.


bill
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Re: Ricoh direct marketing cue wailing and moaning and gnashing of teeth

[Ralf R Radermacher]

Am 21.01.22 um 16:15 schrieb Bill:


Or, they can do all their selling direct to their customers online,
where most people are shopping anyway and drop inventories to
practically zero.


This might work in some markets but not in others. Germany still has
decent brick-and-mortar photo stores in all bigger cities, offering good
service, advice and the possibility to touch and try things in the
store. Prices there are not or only marginally higher than online.

While dealers like Foto Gregor in Cologne or AC-Foto in Aachen still
offer all other brands, I don't see this as a very intelligent move by
Pentax. I'm afraid they'll marginalise themselves even further.

Still, it's their business and they can ruin it any way they like.

Ralf

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Re: Ricoh direct marketing cue wailing and moaning and gnashing of teeth

[David J Brooks]

Henrys up here lists all Pentax gear other then the 55-300 as special order
only

Dave B

On Thu, Jan 20, 2022 at 8:43 PM Larry Colen  wrote:

>
> https://petapixel.com/2022/01/20/ricoh-to-stop-mass-producing-cameras-sell-direct-to-consumer-only/
>
> As of April 1, 2022 (no fooling) Ricoh will stop selling Pentax and GR
> branded cameras through the distribution network and will only sell through
> their own website and branded stores.
>
> Meanwhile Petapixel had a review of the 21/2.4 saying it’s a great lens,
> it’s too bad that the K-1 mkII sucks.
>
> --
> Larry Colen
> l...@red4est.com
>
>
> --
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> follow the directions.



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Re: Ricoh direct marketing cue wailing and moaning and gnashing of teeth

[Bill]

On 1/20/2022 8:14 PM, Daniel J. Matyola wrote:

A company can't just "get someone" to sell its products.  It has to
actively promote the products and develop partnerships with retailers and
distributors.  Ricoh does that with copiers;  why can't it do that with its
cameras?



I suspect I misunderstood your post regarding what are they thinking.

The market has moved towards online shopping anyway, camera stores are 
on the decline, and box stores don't want to sell low volume expensive 
stuff. They are into Canon Rebels and lower, not Pentax K3 class cameras 
and higher.
The nice thing about selling online is that inventories can be kept very 
small. If Pentax were going to get themselves into Best Buy as an 
example, they would have to put close to a thousand of each model camera 
they wanted to sell, along with the same number of lenses into the 
system just to have a demo product in each store, presuming they went 
into every Best Buy store. Add to that, some inventory in each store so 
there is something for the store to sell, and it adds up to several 
thousand units just sitting hoping for a buyer.

That's an expensive gamble.
It was a necessary evil before online shopping existed.
Or, they can do all their selling direct to their customers online, 
where most people are shopping anyway and drop inventories to 
practically zero.
They can use the money they save on dead inventory to advertise heavily, 
something they will have to do for this strategy to work.


bill

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Re: Ricoh direct marketing cue wailing and moaning and gnashing of teeth

[Igor PDML-StR]

That's a sad news.
But, I am afraid, you missed even a worth one:
"the Pentax and GR camera brands will undergo a dramatic restructuring 
that will see mass production end".

At least, that's the interpretation of PetaPixel.

Curious about what exactly they plan, I've read the translation of the 
original Ricoh announcement.

https://news-ricoh--imaging-co-jp.translate.goog/rim_info/2022/20220120_031454.html?_x_tr_sl=ja&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp

Just two interesting excerpts from there:
"PENTAX ... We will expand the range of various customization to further 
reflect the needs of our customers and provide workshop value. In 
addition, we will build a system that enables manufacturing together with 
customers from the product planning stage through communication through 
online fan meetings."


"We will shift from a sales method centered on the distribution network 
via retail stores to sales via the Internet to improve the efficiency of 
business operations. In addition to our own EC direct sales site, we will 
develop directly managed malls in major marketplaces to expand 
opportunities and places where Ricoh Imaging and customers can directly 
connect."



I am not sure what type of model they envision, but either it will be 
weird and rejected (like K-01), or it will lay down some new path that 
*might* have a chance to make Pentax great again. (no pun intended)


I hope these innovations will not affect availability and relative 
affordability of the great lenses Pentax still offers. Although, it is 
hard for me to imagine what they are going to do.


Cheers,
Igor


 Larry Colen wrote on Fri, Jan 21, 2022 1:43 AM:

https://petapixel.com/2022/01/20/ricoh-to-stop-mass-producing-cameras-sell-direct-to-consumer-only/

As of April 1, 2022 (no fooling) Ricoh will stop selling Pentax and GR 
branded cameras through the distribution network and will only sell 
through their own website and branded stores.

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Re: Ricoh direct marketing cue wailing and moaning and gnashing of teeth

[John Sessoms]

I bet they're a lot more competitive in the copier market; brings in 
more profit. I suspect the camera division is struggling to make a profit.


On 1/20/2022 9:14 PM, Daniel J. Matyola wrote:

A company can't just "get someone" to sell its products.  It has to
actively promote the products and develop partnerships with retailers and
distributors.  Ricoh does that with copiers;  why can't it do that with its
cameras?

Dan Matyola
*https://tinyurl.com/DJM-Pentax-Gallery
*
s products

On Thu, Jan 20, 2022 at 9:08 PM Larry Colen  wrote:





On Jan 20, 2022, at 5:46 PM, Daniel J. Matyola 

wrote:


What the hell are they thinking?


Probably something along the lines of they can’t get anyone else to sell
their gear, so they might as well monopolize the whole distribution channel
themselves.





Dan Matyola
*https://tinyurl.com/DJM-Pentax-Gallery
*



On Thu, Jan 20, 2022 at 8:44 PM Larry Colen  wrote:





https://petapixel.com/2022/01/20/ricoh-to-stop-mass-producing-cameras-sell-direct-to-consumer-only/


As of April 1, 2022 (no fooling) Ricoh will stop selling Pentax and GR
branded cameras through the distribution network and will only sell

through

their own website and branded stores.

Meanwhile Petapixel had a review of the 21/2.4 saying it’s a great lens,
it’s too bad that the K-1 mkII sucks.

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l...@red4est.com


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follow the directions.




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Re: Ricoh direct marketing cue wailing and moaning and gnashing of teeth

[John Francis]

On Thu, Jan 20, 2022 at 05:43:35PM -0800, Larry Colen wrote:
> https://petapixel.com/2022/01/20/ricoh-to-stop-mass-producing-cameras-sell-direct-to-consumer-only/
> 
> As of April 1, 2022 (no fooling) Ricoh will stop selling Pentax and GR 
> branded cameras through the distribution network and will only sell through 
> their own website and branded stores.

As best I can tell that announcement was specifically talking about the 
Japanese market.

More than anything else this sounds a lot like the way computers are sold.  
Sure, I could go to a variety of stores (online or physical) and buy an 
off-the-shelf computer, but I've hardly ever actually done that (the exception 
being a couple of ready-built systems I picked up from Tiger Direct at 
clearance prices). Most of the time I've gone to the manufacturer's web site 
(Gateway 2000, HP, Dell, ...), configured the system there, and had them ship 
it to me.

While cameras today aren't as configurable as computers have been for the last 
few decades, there have been some options (a couple of variants of an otherwise 
identical camera).  And as we see every time a new body is rumoured to be 
forthcoming, we get people posting saying what the camera must have to make it 
desirable as far as they are concerned. If Ricoh could actually offer a system 
where a camera body could be configured in a variety of ways (anti-aliasing 
and/or IR filters, sensor dimensions, pixel count, flip-out screen, screw drive 
focussing, power zoom, fastest shutter speed, ...) might they be able to do 
that and still keep the price reasonable?  I don't know.
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Re: Ricoh direct marketing cue wailing and moaning and gnashing of teeth

[Rob Studdert]

Australia may have been a testbed of sorts, there's now virtually no
Pentax to be seen at bricks mortar stores or their on-lline portals.
For some years they have been selling direct and they have an agent on
eBay that often undercuts the buy price of retailers (product is
direct shipped from the importers CRK). As a consequence they have
largely faded into obscurity here.


On Fri, 21 Jan 2022 at 12:44, Larry Colen  wrote:
>
> https://petapixel.com/2022/01/20/ricoh-to-stop-mass-producing-cameras-sell-direct-to-consumer-only/
>
> As of April 1, 2022 (no fooling) Ricoh will stop selling Pentax and GR 
> branded cameras through the distribution network and will only sell through 
> their own website and branded stores.
>
> Meanwhile Petapixel had a review of the 21/2.4 saying it’s a great lens, it’s 
> too bad that the K-1 mkII sucks.
>
> --
> Larry Colen
> l...@red4est.com
>
>
> --
> %(real_name)s Pentax-Discuss Mail List
> To unsubscribe send an email to pdml-le...@pdml.net
> to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow 
> the directions.



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Re: Ricoh direct marketing cue wailing and moaning and gnashing of teeth

[Bill]

On 1/20/2022 7:46 PM, Daniel J. Matyola wrote:

What the hell are they thinking?


Probably that the K1II is now a 6 year old camera (the K1 was announced 
in Feb 2016) and is due for a refresh.
I don't agree that the camera sucks, but it is getting a bit long in the 
tooth.


bill


Dan Matyola
*https://tinyurl.com/DJM-Pentax-Gallery
*



On Thu, Jan 20, 2022 at 8:44 PM Larry Colen  wrote:



https://petapixel.com/2022/01/20/ricoh-to-stop-mass-producing-cameras-sell-direct-to-consumer-only/

As of April 1, 2022 (no fooling) Ricoh will stop selling Pentax and GR
branded cameras through the distribution network and will only sell through
their own website and branded stores.

Meanwhile Petapixel had a review of the 21/2.4 saying it’s a great lens,
it’s too bad that the K-1 mkII sucks.

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Re: Ricoh direct marketing cue wailing and moaning and gnashing of teeth

[Daniel J. Matyola]

A company can't just "get someone" to sell its products.  It has to
actively promote the products and develop partnerships with retailers and
distributors.  Ricoh does that with copiers;  why can't it do that with its
cameras?

Dan Matyola
*https://tinyurl.com/DJM-Pentax-Gallery
*
s products

On Thu, Jan 20, 2022 at 9:08 PM Larry Colen  wrote:

>
>
> > On Jan 20, 2022, at 5:46 PM, Daniel J. Matyola 
> wrote:
> >
> > What the hell are they thinking?
>
> Probably something along the lines of they can’t get anyone else to sell
> their gear, so they might as well monopolize the whole distribution channel
> themselves.
>
>
>
> >
> > Dan Matyola
> > *https://tinyurl.com/DJM-Pentax-Gallery
> > *
> >
> >
> >
> > On Thu, Jan 20, 2022 at 8:44 PM Larry Colen  wrote:
> >
> >>
> >>
> https://petapixel.com/2022/01/20/ricoh-to-stop-mass-producing-cameras-sell-direct-to-consumer-only/
> >>
> >> As of April 1, 2022 (no fooling) Ricoh will stop selling Pentax and GR
> >> branded cameras through the distribution network and will only sell
> through
> >> their own website and branded stores.
> >>
> >> Meanwhile Petapixel had a review of the 21/2.4 saying it’s a great lens,
> >> it’s too bad that the K-1 mkII sucks.
> >>
> >> --
> >> Larry Colen
> >> l...@red4est.com
> >>
> >>
> >> --
> >> %(real_name)s Pentax-Discuss Mail List
> >> To unsubscribe send an email to pdml-le...@pdml.net
> >> to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and
> >> follow the directions.
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> > To unsubscribe send an email to pdml-le...@pdml.net
> > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and
> follow the directions.
> >
>
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>
>
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Re: Ricoh direct marketing cue wailing and moaning and gnashing of teeth

[Larry Colen]

> On Jan 20, 2022, at 5:46 PM, Daniel J. Matyola  wrote:
> 
> What the hell are they thinking?

Probably something along the lines of they can’t get anyone else to sell their 
gear, so they might as well monopolize the whole distribution channel 
themselves.



> 
> Dan Matyola
> *https://tinyurl.com/DJM-Pentax-Gallery
> *
> 
> 
> 
> On Thu, Jan 20, 2022 at 8:44 PM Larry Colen  wrote:
> 
>> 
>> https://petapixel.com/2022/01/20/ricoh-to-stop-mass-producing-cameras-sell-direct-to-consumer-only/
>> 
>> As of April 1, 2022 (no fooling) Ricoh will stop selling Pentax and GR
>> branded cameras through the distribution network and will only sell through
>> their own website and branded stores.
>> 
>> Meanwhile Petapixel had a review of the 21/2.4 saying it’s a great lens,
>> it’s too bad that the K-1 mkII sucks.
>> 
>> --
>> Larry Colen
>> l...@red4est.com
>> 
>> 
>> --
>> %(real_name)s Pentax-Discuss Mail List
>> To unsubscribe send an email to pdml-le...@pdml.net
>> to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and
>> follow the directions.
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> the directions.
> 

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Re: Ricoh direct marketing cue wailing and moaning and gnashing of teeth

[Daniel J. Matyola]

What the hell are they thinking?

Dan Matyola
*https://tinyurl.com/DJM-Pentax-Gallery
*



On Thu, Jan 20, 2022 at 8:44 PM Larry Colen  wrote:

>
> https://petapixel.com/2022/01/20/ricoh-to-stop-mass-producing-cameras-sell-direct-to-consumer-only/
>
> As of April 1, 2022 (no fooling) Ricoh will stop selling Pentax and GR
> branded cameras through the distribution network and will only sell through
> their own website and branded stores.
>
> Meanwhile Petapixel had a review of the 21/2.4 saying it’s a great lens,
> it’s too bad that the K-1 mkII sucks.
>
> --
> Larry Colen
> l...@red4est.com
>
>
> --
> %(real_name)s Pentax-Discuss Mail List
> To unsubscribe send an email to pdml-le...@pdml.net
> to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and
> follow the directions.
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Ricoh direct marketing cue wailing and moaning and gnashing of teeth

[Larry Colen]

https://petapixel.com/2022/01/20/ricoh-to-stop-mass-producing-cameras-sell-direct-to-consumer-only/

As of April 1, 2022 (no fooling) Ricoh will stop selling Pentax and GR branded 
cameras through the distribution network and will only sell through their own 
website and branded stores.

Meanwhile Petapixel had a review of the 21/2.4 saying it’s a great lens, it’s 
too bad that the K-1 mkII sucks.

--
Larry Colen
l...@red4est.com


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