Re: [Leica] M thoughts

[Alan Ball <AlanBall@csi.com>]

Charles Dunlap wrote:
> 
> >Would the M customer want a non-German M
> >camera?
> 
> It wouldn't matter to me. A well-made camera doesn't have to be
> manufactured in Germany. Given my recent experiences with quality control
> on the M6 I wonder if it wouldn't be just as well to make it somewhere else.

Charles,

I agree with you, manufacturing country should bear no importance. On a
personal level, I try to refrain from supporting producers who
delocalise production in countries where social protection does not
exist or where child labour is considered normal. Buying "German" is a
way for me to put my wallet where my mouth is. But, fortunately, Germany
is not the only country with social laws. There is no widespread child
labour in Japan either, Canada and even the States may be considered
civilized on that main point as well, and Europe as a whole is a model
in my eyes. Quite a few developping countries also strive to impose
limitations on the "freedom to exploit". 

Having said that, I do not consider that it is the German social system
alone that explains the pricing of Leica products. Extremely high labour
cost countries are also capable of producing sophisticated goods with
extremely high productivity. The production organization, the level of
automatization, the capital investment are some of the fields where the
battle of price is fought. Leica, as a company, seems to have
strategically opted, with their M and R lines, for a photographic niche
where there is hardly any pressure on the quality/price ratio.
Productivity and mass marketing are not - officialy - on the Leica
agenda. But they do make concessions to the real world in other fields
(their P&S products for example). 

In order to make a profit in their niche, the M and R lines must
maintain their current production level and an "indexed" price level.
Hardly any room for expansion in the normal sense, and I do not see any
hopes for strategic investments on the production capacity front in the
published financial data of the company. 

On another level, I believe that the Leica buyers, installed base
expected to upgrade or prospective buyers, are very much encouraged by
the "made in Germany" logo and that this logo is an integral part of the
Leica identity (even if there was a nice level of support for the
"Canadian" Leica products at one stage). That is why Leica is so silent
regarding its foreign production partnerships. 

The magic part of all this is that the hard core Leica customer base is
extremely faithful and extremely forgiving towards their "object of
devotion". So, as long as Leica maintains the adequate level of
marketing hype around its roots and maintains the mystic link with
Barnack, Wetzlar and all, there will be a niche market of very rich or
very "crazy" (that's me) buyers that will pretend to see the Leica glow
even in equipment manufactured by Minolta, Sigma or Kyocera.
Nevertheless, I bet my unattractive salary that these buyers would frown
at Leica M and R products if their packaging was too clearly stamped
with a Made in Japan, Made in Korea or Made in Singapour logo and sold
at a similar price level to that of the competitors. All of a sudden the
"glow" will have vanished....

One last word before the LUG responds to my blasphemy by the traditional
excommunication procedures : I sincerely, really, honestly, hope that
the coming Photokina will show how wrong I am and how innovative and
creative Leica is. Like many others here and elsewhere, I sense that
this Photokina will be more crucial than any previous one for the future
of Leica, and even of photography as a whole.

Friendly regards,
Alan
Brussels-Belgium