[Leica] S2 success (or lack thereof)

[philippe.amard at sfr.fr (philippe.amard)]

Agreed Douglas,

I said quite a while ago that Leica needed a paradigm shit if they  
were to survive and prosper.
Now the move they've made doesn't suit me, what can I do ...

But they will always find Davos dwellers, Rolex, Veyron, and cruising  
ships owners who will want an S2.
All the better for them all.

Were I one of them, I'd give it a try, and sell it if not convenient
Well sell? why? no need to get through the ordeal of doing so.
My time is more precious to me.
Just forget about it.


In the meantime, I hope I will anyhow enjoy viewing some beautiful  
results some day :-)

Frohe Weihnachten
Philippe


Le 20 d?c. 10 ? 11:48, Douglas Sharp a ?crit :

> Richard,
>
> the fact is that Leica have been absolutely overwhelmed by the  
> success of the M9 and the S2. The are working their wotsits off  
> trying to catch up with an order backlog like they've never seen  
> before.  It doesn't matter one iota who is buying the gear - if it  
> is making Leica a going concern, we can all be happy. Leica is doing  
> a lot of PR trying to make the S2 better known to professionals (at  
> least in Germany, so far) and has, as yet, had only positive  
> feedback - even down to things like how long you can shoot with one  
> battery charge.
>
> Maybe lots of potentates and oligarchs are buying it, but so what -  
> the more S2s there are out there, the more people become aware of it  
> and the brand, and more will be ordered and sold.
>
> As to the M9Ti, the book that's included with it states clearly that  
> it is Leica's "concept car" and has features that could be employed  
> in later models.
>
> The new design is clear, simple and unostentatious - precisely what  
> Leicas have been right from the word go - maybe purists don't like  
> it, but purists even shied away from the idea of a digital Leica R  
> (sacrilege!!)at first,  and when they didn't get one (R10), they all  
> started moaning.
>
> Is there a better way of paying for your R+D costs? I doubt it. A  
> very clever move by Leica, and one that highlights their joint  
> sponsoring efforts with the VW Group (and Audi as a premium brand)   
> e.g. http://www.sbc2010.de/ It's pretty obvious where their target  
> groups are - and it's not us.
>
> Leica are getting their products placed in the rarified atmosphere  
> of premium events like this and are accessing the segments where  
> money is no object.
>
> Good for Leica! Their radical turnaround project has worked  
> (although a gamble) and the company is on a relatively firm  
> financial footing for what is, after all, a very small company. They  
> still have quite a way to go, and I, for one, wish them well.
>
> It is perhaps interesting to note that what turned Leica around was  
> the fact that they declined to produce what Leicaphiles were asking  
> for and went their own way for a change.
>
> Maybe dyed-in-the-wool Leicaphiles are what was holding them back -  
> now they've thrown this age-old conservatism out of the window they  
> seem to be back and doing rather well.
>
> Cheers
> Douglas
>
> On 20.12.2010 11:07, Richard Man wrote:
>> Come on guys. I know no one controls where a thread goes, but do we  
>> have to
>> hijack it to yet another rant against M9Ti or whatever horse$hit that
>> someone happens not to like?
>>
>> My conjecture is that just based on some random but imho educated  
>> guesses,
>> the S2 will do all right by Leica. No one has either call BS on it  
>> or agree
>> to it, but yet another tangential rant.
>>
>>
>>
>
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