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Hoya CEO: "We will not shut down this business.”

Shaky
Posted 27/10/2009 - 09:43 Link
Photo Rumors are carrying a report from Bloomberg that contains some comments from Hoya's CEO regarding Pentax.

They pull this quote out:
Quote:
“I don’t know whether we’ll go with Samsung or somebody else, but I can say that we’ll have a deeper relationship with some electronics guys. There will be consolidation in the camera business and a small player like us will be like a small boat on a rough sea. But let me be clear: we will not shut down this business.”

And as regards the last comment specifically ("let me be clear: we will not shut down this business") Suzuki has previously said in the recent Nikkei interview " Pentax camera division . . .may be sold to other company or become a independent company itself".

However, if the latter happens without the presence of a strong strategic partner the new company is highly likely just to burn through whatever financing reserves Hoya grant them at the time of a spin-off in short order, which would probably merely delay its winding up.

As I have previously mentioned the longer this drags on without the emergence a strategic partner the greater the chances become of such a spin-off. And with the division potentially able to deliver some kind of meagre operating profit for the just closed financial quarter and a reasonably attractive product line-up on deck, the expediency of a decision to cut Pentax cameras lose is unlikely to be greater any time soon.

However, the imperative of finding a strong partner - as opposed to some "electronics guys " - remains, and in this respect no news is in my view most certainly not good news.
film
Posted 27/10/2009 - 10:08 Link
I FOR ONE WOULD HATE TO SEE PENTAX FOLD,WHAT WITH THE LATEST CAMERAS,I THINK THEY HAVE GOT IT SPOT ON FILM. PENTAX K10
Quote:

dangie
Posted 27/10/2009 - 10:19 Link
I have stopped buying any more photo gear that is just Pentax specific eg lenses, flash etc. I want to upgrade my K10D but I'm not. Even the most opimistic Pentax user must by now be a little concerned about Pentax's future. I'm waiting for the upcoming (I hope) Samsung NX to see what that brings for Pentax users before I finally decide to stay with Pentax or move to Canikon (ouch..that hurt).

"...we will not shut down this business"
That's it then. A bit like the football manager whose job is safe. Sacked next week!
6th Year Apprentice Pensioner
johnriley
Posted 27/10/2009 - 11:03 Link
If it's no news, don't bother about it.

Frankly, the future of all marques is always dependent on continuing success and you'll be pleased to hear that Pentax is expected to be back in profit by March 2010.

The same cannot be said of some others, but they'll all survive for the forseable future anyway. Don't forget Konica Minolta didn't exactly disappear and their users might have felt the same way as dangie at one point.

We can't waste our time not living life because we're worried that something will happen that may never happen.

Why not upgrade now to a K20D and enjoy the enhanced photographic experience it will bring?
Best regards, John
mecrox
Posted 27/10/2009 - 11:15 Link
Hoya seem to be doing the all the right things - the k7 and the kx sound well-specced and shrewdly pitches offers - and as John says, any outfit can fold, not only camera-makers but anyone else. It's also easy to get a skewed perspective because we see Pentax only from the UK's point of view. Our home market is hardly Pentax's prime market. I suspect that if you were in south-east Asia and particularly in Japan then Pentax would seem a much more vibrant and more successful entity. I'd imagine that all camera-makers are asking themselves how long the traditional "camera" is going to last as digital imaging morphs everything into something else.
hkwiles
Posted 27/10/2009 - 11:33 Link
Even if pentax did go under, you would still be able to use and enjoy your gear .
How many times had you actually had to contact the Company since you had your camera?

MG doesnt exist anymore but it doesnt seem to stop the plethora of MGB owners and "would be "owners.

Just enjoy I say. As I get older the saying " live for the day " means more and more.

Don't sweat the small things in life !

Howard
Body: K7 of course !!
Lenses: DA18-55WR,DA50-200WR,FA50-1.4
Edited by hkwiles: 27/10/2009 - 11:34
mattox
Posted 27/10/2009 - 12:33 Link
I don't think that Pentax will fold, but having said that, the only way that they can push their name is to squeeze themselves in between canon and nikon. There gear offers everything to the enthusiast, but the market is poorly advertised. There simply isn't enough people out there that know what the pentax camera can offer. Without hard marketing there future will always look glim.
Anvh
Posted 27/10/2009 - 13:33 Link
But I believe Pentax is a smaller company then Canon and Nikon are at the moment so Canon & Nikon need to sell more to play it even.
If pentax would invest more in marketing then you also need more people for that meaning more money is needed and more they need to sell so then the question come how effective is marketing against the big boys?
Stefan
Comment Image

K10D, K5
DA* 16-50, DA* 50-135, D-FA 100 Macro, DA 40 Ltd, DA 18-55
AF-540FGZ
johnriley
Posted 27/10/2009 - 13:36 Link
The essentials are that you sell what you manufacture, at a profit. The size of the company isn't a direct factor in that, so provided Pentax grow at a rate that they can sustain then all will be well.
Best regards, John
Mongoose
Posted 27/10/2009 - 13:54 Link
if I had the disposable income I would buy a K7 right now no question.

Particularly in the current economic climate ANY company MAY go under in the next 12 months. If Pentax go under:

1. My camera will still work just fine, even more so if I have just bought a shiney new K7

2. My lenses will still work just fine, and there will still be plenty of lenses available, probably at substantial "going out of buisness" discounts.

3. In all probability someone will buy the remains of the company to get the rights to the K mount. Samsung spring to mind. Even if they aren't interested in Pentax as a going concern, if they have DSLR aspirations then it's much easier to buy a pre-made user base and build it up than to start from scratch. As long as SOMEONE is still making K mount cameras, we still have new cameras to drewl over, new lenses to buy and new people to flog our gear to if we don't like the way the new owners take the system.

I honestly don't think it's worth worrying about.
you don't have to be mad to post here



but it does help
Hyram
Posted 27/10/2009 - 13:57 Link
You might as well start worrying whether the manufacturer of your car is about to go down the pan
Hyram

Bodies: K20D (2), K10D, Super A, ME Super, Auto 110 SLR, X70, Optio P70
Pentax Glass: DA* 300, DA* 60-250, DA* 50-135, DA* 16-50, DA 70 Ltd, FA 31 Ltd, DA 35 Ltd, DA 18-55 (2), DA 12-24, DA 10-17, M 200, A 35-70, M 40, M 28, Converter-A 2X-S, 1.4X-S, AF 1.7, Pentax-110 50, Pentax-110 24
Other Glass: Sigma 105 macro, Sigma-A APO 75-300
Flash: Metz 58 AF-1 P, Pentax AF160FC ringflash, Pentax AF280T
Anvh
Posted 27/10/2009 - 14:50 Link
Right on topic link
Seems Canon has some problems.
profits down 21,5% and operational profits down 53,6%
Stefan
Comment Image

K10D, K5
DA* 16-50, DA* 50-135, D-FA 100 Macro, DA 40 Ltd, DA 18-55
AF-540FGZ
K10D
Posted 27/10/2009 - 14:55 Link
Mongoose wrote:
if I had the disposable income I would buy a K7 right now no question.

Particularly in the current economic climate ANY company MAY go under in the next 12 months. If Pentax go under:

1. My camera will still work just fine, even more so if I have just bought a shiney new K7

2. My lenses will still work just fine, and there will still be plenty of lenses available, probably at substantial "going out of buisness" discounts.

3. In all probability someone will buy the remains of the company to get the rights to the K mount. Samsung spring to mind. Even if they aren't interested in Pentax as a going concern, if they have DSLR aspirations then it's much easier to buy a pre-made user base and build it up than to start from scratch. As long as SOMEONE is still making K mount cameras, we still have new cameras to drewl over, new lenses to buy and new people to flog our gear to if we don't like the way the new owners take the system.

I honestly don't think it's worth worrying about.

When Minolta dropped out, Warehouse Express were shedding Minolta glass. I got the 17-35mm for 149 quid. So good deals are there.

There's more going on to worry about, IF you have the spare time to worry?

Regards
Inspiration is rarer than a plate glass camera.....
Shaky
Posted 27/10/2009 - 15:04 Link
Mongoose wrote:
In all probability someone will buy the remains of the company to get the rights to the K mount.

I am afraid that one of the key problems facing Pentax/Hoya and any potential acquiror/strategic partner is that the K mount backwards is a huge liability.

If you are selling dslr bodies, you also want to be selling the punters brand spanking new lenses at what must be hefty markups given these are basically pieces of glass stuck together in a plastic/metal case.

You certainly don't want them digging out and god forbid using 30-50 year old bits of glass the profit on which is long gone.

The magnitude of the industry "cross-subsidy" from lens sales on the total dslr operations is impossible to quantify given the limited accounting information the players release. However, even disregarding the issue of old k mount lens stocks cannibalising 'current' sales, this is undoubtedly a further reason why Pentax's tiny market share is such a serious business problem.
Shaky
Posted 27/10/2009 - 15:06 Link
Anvh wrote:
Right on topic link

Wrong.

There are industry specific problems and company specific problems. The reason Hoya is agonising over the future of Pentax is entirely due to company specific issues.

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