| Pentax's current position in the DSLR wars is a difficult one. Fundamentally Pentax was very late in introducing a DSLR vis-a vis it's competitors. This has huge long term consequences as far as brand building, market share, pricing and technical expertise.
Indeed I find there are very close parallels with the disk drive industry where success favors the company that is quicker off the block in bringing a product to market. By being first, it can command a price premium, capture market share quicker, achieve break even production volumes quicker & thereby enjoy lower unit costs and recoup the initial investment faster.
By the time the competitor has played catch-up, the market leader can afford to reduce the selling price to undermine competitor's pricing, market share penetration and competitor profits; or introduced a better and newer upgraded version that leaves the competitors playing catch-up technically or left with excess inventory that is overpriced and unsold. That certainly has been the experience of Canon.
It is very difficult for Pentax to "keep up with the Joneses" with the likes of Canon and Nikon simply because it just doesn't have the market share nor corporate profits to begin with to play this game. This certainly applies to the budget DSLR segment where the market leaders need the sales volume to maintain marketshare. They want the PnS crowd to migrate to DSLRs as margins are better and they can afford to employ loss leader tactics to retain market share.
Even though their entry level DSLRs are priced low, they may continue to show a profit because they got the production numbers which equates to lower unit costs. Not so for Pentax who has still some way to go in making up the numbers in market share penetration and who can't match the likes of competitors like Sony in brand marketing. Hence the Pentax approach not to go this route is sound business strategy imo.
Today, there is little by way of brand loyalty because for the most part a lot of today's products are actually quite similar in spec and functionality and because today's consumer would just as easily switch brands and cameras in a heartbeat. While in the past many would faithfully stick with a favorite brand, today it is not un-common to hear of people switching brands (aka jumping ship) or having more than one brand. One only need to look at the members on this and other forums to bear evidence of this.
To end on a positive note, I cite the example of my observation of Pentax in Singapore. There are few stores where one can actually find a Pentax DSLR whereas if I wanted a Canon or Nikon, I can find one almost everywhere 24/7. Yet the number of Pentax users is surely growing in an environment where there is little by way of product availability nor marketing. This I attribute to having a product that is the best bang for the buck. It has attracted others to switch to Pentax. In my assessment, Pentax's sternest competitor is not Canon or Nikon but... Sony. |