>> So the question becomes... why DOESN'T Pentax have a high-end presence >> in Costco, Walmart, Best Buy, and other nationwide brick and mortar >> stores? Just about the only retail presence I see is camera shops, >> which typically are selling at close to MSRP, and which get a small >> fraction of the traffic the above mentioned stores receive. >> >> It's even rare for me to see a Pentax P&S on sale here. >> >> Tom C. >> > That kind of bothers me, too. When I got my K-x, I had no idea just how > "obscure" the brand had become. As someone who was previously only a > passive observer of photography and just getting my feet wet, I always > thought of four brands -- Canon, Nikon, Olympus and Pentax -- and > considered them all to be relatively equal competitors in the field. > Boy, was I ever mistaken! > > I can't help Pentax's lack of presence in the big-box market is kind of > a self-perpetuating failure, though I do like the sense of community > that comes along with it. What's great about being a Pentaxian is that > when you run into another Pentax shooter, you say, "Hey, look! A fellow > Pentax shooter!" and then you strike up a conversation. This happened > while I was out in California, at the Steampunk convention with Larry > and John Francis -- and it didn't hurt that she was a winsome lass. > > I'm guessing you don't get that with Canon and Nikon shooters. I suspect > the large part of their interactions consist of sideways glances to see > which model each other is shooting and what grade of glass they have > attached to them. > > Still, it'd be nice to walk into a store and see a K-5 on a display > shelf, just so I could pick one up and handle it for a few moments of > masochistic bliss. > > -- Walt
After thinking about it, I suspect Pentax is, in a way, stuck in a catch-22. They'd have to increase production to sell in the big presence retail stores, and they can't really fund increased production unless they increase sales. I do see a lot more advertising on line for Pentax. That was almost non-existent back in 2003/2004. Tom C. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
