From an article in the German Giessener Anzeiger newspaper two weeks ago (Google translation):
“The 1000 employees of Leica Camera AG (Solms / Lahn-Dill-Kreis) fear for their jobs. With sharp words of CEO Rudolf Spiller employees in a staff meeting has described the situation of Leica. In order to stabilize the company, the employees are on holiday and give Christmas bonuses for a total of around one million euros.”
At the same time (2 weeks ago) there were 50 pre-orders for the new Leica S2 camera from the US alone.
Moving forward to yesterday: Amateurphotographer reports an incredible demand for the new Leica M9 in London in the first few days after the official launch: photographers were trading in their “bulky” Canon and Nikon DLSRs for the smallest full frame camera on the market today. In one of the Leica stores in London, the initial delivery of eight Leica M9 cameras was sold in 14 minutes and the store’s manager claimed that “I could sell 50 today”.
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14 Comments
Glad to see there’s such high demand for the M9, but how is this jumping the shark? As I understand the reference, that would mean that Leica had done something that pushed them into bad territory, done something out of character (again in a bad way) and something which signaled the end of their integrity — as in the episode in Happy Days where Fonzy jumps over the shark while waterskiing and the series was never quite the same again, and lost its original appeal. If anything the M9 actually brings back that original appeal for some Leica M shooters.
That’s exactly my point, based on this article Leica is in financial trouble. Will those new products save to company, or bring it to the ground. A lot of money was spent in r&d and now the question is will they sell enough equipment to cover it up. I don’t think they will get another chance. I sincerely hope they do well.
jump the shark: a term to describe a moment when something that was once great has reached a point where it will now decline in quality and popularity.
source: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=jump%20the%20shark
Fair enough re: financial condition of Leica — the M9 very well may be a make or break it product. But the second point about the high initial demand for the M9, and from at least some people who had not been digital M fans before, contradicts the assertion that the M9 is a jump the shark product or that as a brand it is on metaphorical water skis heading for a big fish.
If Leica had introduced an M9 that moved away from the core competencies of the M system in an attempt to bring in new customers and done so in a way that was inauthentic to the brand, alienating customers they already had, that to me would have been jumping the shark.
In any case, can’t wait until the initial rush is over (and maybe some ex-demo models turn up at a lower price) so I can get my own M9 and do my part to help Leica’s financials
What I don’t understand is why they are taking those financial measures if they expect the S2, M9 and X1 to be a success. Is there more to this story that we don’t know?
There is no way that Leica will go bankrupt now they have launched the M9. They will probably turn over $50 million over the next month.
I think Leica will lose money if the rumors of the 34 megapixel sensor coming from Sony are true and it goes up against the S2.
Whereas I agree that Megapixels and all the rest will probably be led by the Asian companies (Sony, Nikon, Canon etc) I don’t think that is the reason why people love Leica and the ‘cult’ exists. Leica has the prestige and the history and it is that what people want, not more megapixels. To be honest, I would have preferred the M9 to have 12 mega pixels and the high ISO performance of the Nikon but I guess, grain offers something too which I sometimes put into my photos post processing as I like the look of it (sometimes). There will always be those who want the best name out there and the more it costs the better as it makes it a more closed club. Leica making cheap, affordable cameras would be ‘jumping the shark’ in my book. The world needs the bench mark of top quality. I still think though that what we need is a camera with easily upgradable sensor technology. That way, a camera can be a lifetime investment again. Imagine having a camera that you load new sensors into just like you used to load new film. That is where we must go in the future of top end cameras. My 2 cents worth anyway.
It will be interesting to see how the X1 performs. If it bombs, due to its non-interchangeable lens, it could be bad. It all depends if Leica expects to sell more point and shoots than the M9.
I think there is some misunderstanding regarding the meaning of “Jumping the Shark.” “Jumping the Shark” indicates a defining moment, a telltale sign of demise, that someone or something has clearly past their prime, especially by doing something ridiculous. This is not what has happened here….
That sensor will probably not come to the market for a long time yet. Also, the S2 has the added advantage of having a large sensor (not so many issues with diffraction), amazing optics, and being a brilliant camera to use.
Re M9 success and financial difficulties: don’t forget that increased sales also mean increased working capital, which has to be funded.
There might be covenants in the agreements between Leica and their banks including a cap on the “financial debt / equity” ratio. If people at Leica give up their holidays or contractual bonuses, it’s not so much a decrease in cash out than an extraordinary profit for the company, which directly increases equity and allows for more lending from banks to finance inventories and trade receivables.
Based on your definition:
“jump the shark: a term to describe a moment when something that was once great has reached a point where it will now decline in quality and popularity.”
Leica jumped the shark with the M8. Read the following review as proof:
http://web.mac.com/kamberm/Leica_M8_Field_Test,_Iraq/Page_1.html
High Quality B&W photography was a historic core capability of Leica.
Where is the High Quality B&W “digital” Leica?
Get rid of the Bayer Colour filter and you vastly increase the High ISO capability
of say an M9. A B&W M9, would have Leica return to its roots and could be a game changer for Leica. You wont get moire with B&W (if my memory is correct). You would get super sharp & detailed photos that could “not” be replicated by a Canon or Nikon or Sony user.
It’s funny how everybody talks about the expression “Jumping the Shark” while nobody has pointed out the obvious grammatical error in the title. And I’m not even a native speaker…
oh-oh, got it…