Ricoh CFO: “The time has come for us to choose which businesses to be in”

We await the outcome.

https://pentaxrumors.com/2022/12/02/ricoh-cfo-the-time-has-come-for-us-to-choose...

Best regards

The document referenced in the article is old..... it talks about "developments taking place in April 2021"

" Time has come " Ricoh" Pentax

The gentle clasp that holds my hand
Must loosen and let go
Please help me through the door
Though instinct tells you no

Looking at a post in the comments:

"There is also an official document from Ricoh, published on 30 September 2022, named 'Ricoh Group Integrated Report 2022'.

https://www.ricoh.com/-/med...

I'm referring to the section named 'Medium- to Long-Term Outlook and the 20th Mid-Term Management Plan - Ricoh Lift Off' (pages 19 to 33), more specifically to pages 21 and 22 which cover the same topics as the interview given by Takashi Kawaguchi, Ricoh CFO, to the Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun, subsequently published online by Newswitch.

"There is a reference to the three criteria (profitability, market position and fit with digital services) according to which businesses are objectively assessed and allocated to four categories:

- growth acceleration
- profit maximization
- strategic transformation
- business revitalization

The camera business is assessed as (i) low-profitability, (ii) unlikely to success in reaching a leading market position and (iii) having a low compatibility with and/or bringing low contributions to digital services.

Accordingly, it has been allocated to the 'business revitalisation' category. It will "explore ways to contribute to value", a non-committal statement."

I don't know where any of this would lead, time will tell.

Best regards

Wow. All of that sounds ominous. Pentax has the potential to succeed in DSLRs now that they are the last man standing, but they'd need to invest in advertising more than anything else, so that people are aware of their products.

All together now - 1, 2, 3 - - - Pentax is DOOOOMED!!!

Steve
PS: Not much point in advertising the Pentax product if people don't believe that a DSLR is worth having. Perhaps Ricoh has to ride it out until photography has its equivalent of the vinyl revival. Until then, small, niche and for the connoisseur might just do it.

Yep, you make sense to me. Pentax appears to occupy a discrete market sector that I feel has significant customer loyalty. The challenge is to expand the brand to others who are focussed on different forms.

Further, even though I intuit there are many who may like the Pentax form rather than what we're seeing coming through now with the competition, many do prefer the alternatives (which is to be respected.) And that's the challenge.

Another question that may need to be considered, are the current owners of the Pentax brand convinced enough to invest in its future?

It'll be interesting to see how this plays out. Other comments on this subject will be interesting.

The biggest hurdle for marketing is to overcome a general conception that Pentax is finished, put about by certain YouTubers which of course silly fanboys lap up and gleefully regurgitate. No one is going to buy into a system that appears to have no future even if they would prefer a DSLR. Unfortunately the marketing of Pentax is left entirely to retailers, it is totally absent from Photography magazines and trade shows so it’s no wonder people think the brand has died out. Ominously prestigious lenses like the 70-200 f2.8 are heavily discounted now, presumably because they cannot be shifted.

RobL - I didn't realise the marketing of Pentax is left entirely to retailers. Not a wise move, short sighted. On an individual level they won't have the financial 'heft' to promote a coherent marketing and promotion programme. Regrettable.

I say that Urbanmeister because I get promo emails from SRS and Clifton Cameras about Pentax launches and special deals, but when was the last time you saw an advert by Pentax? They haven’t been at the Photography Show for a while although maybe some smaller shows; new products will feature in magazine news articles and occasionally in a review but I cannot see new buyers being persuaded to switch brands by these. The most widely viewed YouTubers appear dismissive of Pentax mainly because they aren’t mirrorless and tellingly the one guy who regularly gave positive reviews and comparisons, Cameraville, has largely switched to other brands for the simple reasons that there aren’t many new products to review and as he buys his own stuff the likes of Nikon and Sony get him more views and thus revenue.

Last week I met a photographer who is a Nikon brand ambassador and has recently been given, for free, their latest top end professional camera In return for which she gives promotional talks. I don’t know how many brand ambassadors there are but this shows the sort of money the likes of Nikon are prepared to spend and as a result return a healthy profit. Unless Pentax can raise its game and get noticed then it is doomed.

The translation from Japanese in the original article was confusing in terms of "tense". It made it appear the first part of the statement was written prior to April 2021.

Pentax has seen difficult times like this before, and we can only hope for them to continue. The current state of the camera market is probably the most challenging ever, with the increasing reliance on smartphones and the overwhelming success of mirrorless.

Fingers crossed

Just a thought... I wonder whether anyone (i.e. Pentax/Ricoh) will bring out an interchangable viewfinder - put on the pentaprism when you want the authentic SLR experience, swap for the EVF when you want live view through a viewfinder. Why have just one when you can experience both with the same camera?

Steve

As I have said many many times before I have seen doomsayers saying Pentax is dead since the mid-1980s.

I do think Ricoh have to put a stop on the subtle changes and special editions and offer current users a tantalising prospect of future upgrades, ie those K-1 users who might want something new to spend their money on and not another small upgrade like K1.1 to K1.2 - I have stuck with my K-1.1. I was astonished to learn that the 45.7MP Nikon D850 is actually 6 years old, it's not quite dead yet (although Nikon stopped developing DSLRs they still produce D7500, D780, D850 and D6) and lots of people had been waiting for 'D880', but now watching for Z8. If we know what sensor that comes with the Z8 then hopefully it might give us a glimpse of what sensor might appear in K1.3 (maybe the 60MP sensor). Pentax need to make it 'affordable' but not, at the same time, kill sales of the K3.3 (as did the D850 do to the D500).

We don't want more KFs. Certainly not just pandering to the dwindling band of dedicated users who hang onto their older cameras because they prefer the older cameras or the new cameras don't meet the upgrade criteria they seek. Going back to the 1980s I remember when PSA announced the end of the 2CV6 line, all the 2CV afficionados were all up in arms and protesting - a Citroen spokesman said he acknowledged all the fans and clubs demanding the continuation of the line, but when he went to meets he would see all the cars lined up but no-one would actually go into a showroom and buy a new model, they just weren't selling any more.

Dear Ricoh - now that I have my super new computer - please get that 60 MP sensor into a K1.3, then I will also buy a 21mm Limited and 150-450mm..

It needs a new landmark camera body to turn a manufacturer’s fortunes around, we have seen it with OM Systems, Nikon with their Z9, Canon with their R5 and Fujifilm making the leap into medium format. The K3.III had the potential but is APS-C which is a dwindling market and is up against the reviewers’ favourite slightly cheaper Fujifilm. (I tried one and the handling was awful - the Fuji that is).

Pentax had the lead and potential with ground breaking medium format but appears to have thrown away that opportunity by letting others muscle in, similarly the K1 was a great contender but it needs a replacement for Pentax to stay relevant.

Well said, RobL.