Hi Pentax, on 18 Nov 02 you wrote in pentax.list:
>Lots of stores here don't handle Pentax at all (some never, some not anymore >"they just don't sell"). For this to occur in what is supposed to be ... This is not a Pentax specific problem. It is one symptom of the restructuring of a whole industry. Noone can tell whre this process may lead to but I'm very optimistic concerning Pentax' future. Why? You might have a look at the automobile industry. Although there is no revolutionary technology on the horizon there are signs of saturation. The reaction of successful manufacturers was to adapt more to the customer needs. As result you can buy many different types of cars. For example Mercedes has offered 5 or 6 different classes of cars 15 years ago. Today they are offering 10 or 11! If you compare the photographic industry than you will see, that the market for consumer SLRs is saturated, too. So the battle will be fought on markets with more promising growth rates. There is the market of digital consumer cameras at first. Here Pentax is quite successfull with its Optio line. The prestigous market of high-end SLRs is ruled by Canon and Nikon. Pentax doens't offer a similar product, but that wouldn't make sense anyway. If you look at the MZ-S then you will find, that it is unique. It has its own niche as a semi-pro camera. There is no Canon or Nikon made of metal for this price! So as far as I can see Pentax has a sensible line-up at the moment. We will have to see what they will release on the PMA next year. But I guess, that they will find a new niche and release a promising product. For me, Pentax is a hidden champion! Think of other manufacturers with less public attention than Nikon and Canon: Leica, Contax and Kyocera e.g. And further more Pentax has more income sources than the SLR segment: telescopes, medical products, middle format, licensing, a huge compact camera assortment... Regards, Heiko
