P�l Jensen wrote: > Although this fits well in with Pentax lack of marketing > strategies (perhaps it is a strategy!), I was actually told > that Pentax had no plan to meet demand of the *ist D ever. > They would never make any volume with this camera. This was > at the introduction and plans may have changed since for all I know... > I believe the *ist D only purpose is to provide Pentax with a > DSLR signalising that they will continue to make SLR's. The > *ist D probably virtually only sell to people thats already > within the Pentax system. > Perhaps the camera is a loss leader anyway and Pentax may > loose money on every one for all we know...
I'm obviously pleased they made a digital SLR that's compatible with the equipment *I* already own, but I'm a Pentax enthusiast anyway and actively look out for their products. It seems a bizarre way to market any of their products to manufacture loss leaders, without some 'in your face' advertising for the range of camera products available in store to the general public. How are you going to recoup money invested in R & D, without some form of high volume sales from either point and shoot cameras/film cameras, when - and I make this comment from experience of stores near me in the UK - the Pentax range is conspicuous by it's absence/or no stock or demonstration models in store, plus the public are confronted by masses of advertising from every competitor in the market. You aren't going to sell cameras to people who don't know that the product exists, particularly when the competition is so heavily hyped in stores that they may never look (or be shown) as far as a Pentax alternative. Competition in the market place has become fierce on all fronts and because of the changes in society over the years, everything is expected to be available immediately, sales are easy to lose. I noted for the first time that Mercedes were advertising on television their latest sports coupe. This is remarkable, because they never needed advertising to sell them here (perhaps a discreet advert in a motoring journal) and they could afford to have long waiting lists and be off hand to potential customers. No more. Choice of quality items has to be available there and then, or the sale is lost. Advertising, even for big well known brands, is a must do. If you are selling point and shoot cameras, which are regularly an impulse buy, not having the product in the store on display with stock ready for customers to take away, will make you a manufacturer of the past. I'd rather that wasn't where Pentax is currently going. Malcolm
