Originally posted by RonHendriks1966 I don't think Ricoh is going to waist money on Pentax. Not in this market.
I don't see any waste in Ricoh's strategy. They are keeping in the game, they have a niche carved out and the business model is to keep a core set of what 25,000 global customers? spending between €2K and €5K a year on enhancements to the system they like and take 20% to 30% margin which they can use for R&D to keep ticking over. They don't waste on advertising, they don't waste on complicated supply chain, they don't waste on loss leaders. The head count is probably minimal too, send in some engineers from the parent firm on secondment to learn how to innovate with limited budget and build some cross business communication channels. If I was in a leadership role in Ricoh, I'd use Pentax as a finishing school for those marked for success. A play area / training ground.
Brief to some hotshot manager or engineer coming up the ranks, you've an awful lot of automy, limited budget, there is a renowned history / culture, you're up against companies with factors of whatever against you in size, advertising clout, engineering resource, R&D budget... Show us what you can do.