[RioRico]

Of course, things may feel quite differently inside the company as people are shuffled around or possibly feel resentment,

So your company's been taken over and you still have a job -- what's to resent?

[eddie1960]

So your company's been taken over and you still have a job -- what's to resent?

Exactly, it's not like there is a surplus of people over at Pentax given how much downsizing hoya did

[monochrome]

Exactly, it's not like there is a surplus of people over at Pentax given how much downsizing hoya did

I wonder if Ricoh has a dealer sales infrastructure?

[eddie1960]

I wonder if Ricoh has a dealer sales infrastructure?

Not in Canada at all, and in the US there are only a few dealers like pophoto and bh (so mostly online like Pentax) - so not much rep support is my guess
different story in Europe. I've seen Ricoh in most stores i went into in Paris London and Barcelona (Pentax too so it's not just Ricoh) - so reps are likely still out there in some form
And apparently it is quite popular in Japan where the camera market is less price sensitive (Ricoh's aren't cheap but well designed and built)

[monochrome]

I hope John Carlson knows how to run a national dealer sales operation.

[eddie1960]

I hope John Carlson knows how to run a national dealer sales operation.

Where was he before he came to Pentax? (assuming he wasn't at Pentax when they actually had one before it got decimated by policies that may well have been out of their control BTW)
I've taken some shots at him but I'm not certain it's all down to him or even Pentax USA but more constrained by what they were given from japan as a budget to run the US (and the huge US move to web sales to avoid sales tax - easier than the old catalogue days- probably meant they looked and said killing the dealer network won't impact sales that much since most of them come from internet sales let's cut our costs - which sounds like a Hoya thing to do
Correct me if I'm wrong but Pre-Hoya there was some more dealers were there not (I know my K10 came from Cameta at the time)

[monochrome]

The dealer network had been gradually declining for years (contemporaneous with the general decline of B&M stores) to the point where Pentax sales reps started jumping ship to Canon. At a point Pentax raised the dealer floor I think to force the salemen out more than anything and moved to the box-store model what, 4 years ago? I remember either Bunnell or Carlson blogging about it.

I think Ritz was a big deal keeping Pentax out of the US where Canon and Nikon bought volume - and paid for it twice. Pentax got lucky tactically but now Ricoh has to reestablish brand awareness.

I swear I saw an interview where Bunnell spoke about Creve Couer Camera (St. Louis Chain). I wonder if he calls on them himself. They did a XMAS TV ad in 2010 featuring the K-x.

Sure do hear a lot of radio ads for the local copier distributor, though.

[Jean Poitiers]

Bonjour,

Super news ...

Maybe like I suggested earlier in another thread, wait about six months from now and look at where Pentax (maybe ex-Ricoh) is positioned and announcing ... wait another six months later and do the same analysis plus look at what the "new" Pentax has produced since the Ricoh buyout from Hoya (plus now the controlling-hand of Pentax, etc.) Again, I think that a year from now that I am (and we Pentaxians are) going to be very pleased ... On verra!

Salut, on est sur le bon chemin ... Allez go! - J Frog

[elho_cid]

First thing they should do is adopt the P-TTL flashes for Ricoh cameras. The GF-1 is the only Ricoh flash unit and it is quite simple, weak and expensive. I'd like to have an advanced compact camera like GXR which would work with my Pentax flashes.

[Col]

First thing they should do is adopt the P-TTL flashes for Ricoh cameras. The GF-1 is the only Ricoh flash unit and it is quite simple, weak and expensive. I'd like to have an advanced compact camera like GXR which would work with my Pentax flashes.

Well there's a first. I've never seen a post before expressing the wish for "our" P-TTL system

[Tonto]

Sounds like an ideal time to upgrade BOTH systems!

[Blue]

It doesn't say the Ricoh brand camera is going away. It says that the PRI camera division will manage both brands from a single unit.

I don't think there's enough focus and market space for what Ricoh is doing with the GXR mounter system. It's dead. They are just taking their time doing it. In 36 months....gone.

I guess you missed the Lecia module for Leica lenses . . .

[Blue]

err what's with the people at DPReview? It's like a lot of them hate anything Pentax - even the news!

I call them DipReview!

[RonHendriks1966]

I guess this is more like a simple bussiness descision to put those two camera segments together. Joint R&D, production and sales should save some money.

[Jean Poitiers]

Go Pentax! (After last night's announcement)

Bonjour,

D'accord à 100% !

Allez "GO Pentax" - Salut, J Frog