Originally posted by Joe Dusel How did Pentax Alienate Retailers?
I am not sure they did. As late as 2016, it was fairly easy to find Pentax in a brick and mortar store in my area. What changed in 2016 was the loss of yet another non-big-box photography outlet. At present, the number of entities offering a selection of cameras and lenses of any brand in the Portland, Oregon area may occupy the fingers of one hand. None offers the full range of any brand. In some ways, B&M sales abandoned the makers, not the other way around.
Now, back to a few hard truths as explained to me by a store owner in or around 2010. There are a limited number of ways that camera goods get on the shelves of a physical store:
- The store owns all stock outright and orders such from the manufacturers' distributors
- The store may do as above, but with the option to buy on time from the distributor
- The distributor provides, owns, and maintains store stock based on perception of market demand and uses the store as a sales agent
Distributors tend to offer only one of the three options and there are implications for all three. When Ritz Camera bit the dust in 2012, the makers using option #3 were in a world of hurt; those using option #2 somewhat less so. Pentax under Hoya offered option #2, as I understood the discussion mentioned above, and would have at least recouped at least some bad debt.
As related to me in 2010, Pentax still had an team of outside sales representative actively working the stores in their territories. As the ranks of such stores thinned, the ability of a territory support to its reps became less and less possible. Sales were increasingly through online retailers and big box stores and product placement depended on the ability of the distributors to provide good deals to the retailers and also the ability to counter exclusivity agreements with vendors. In 2014, I asked the manager of Camera World in downtown Portland why they did not stock other than token Sony product (e.g. no Sony FF offerings). The answer was that Sony had an exclusive product placement contract with Best Buy and as a result, Best Buy "owned" Sony for the Portland market and also dictated what competitor's product was offered by Best Buy*. Still, though, Camera World did offer the full Pentax line of bodies and a decent selection of lenses up until they abruptly shut their doors winter of 2016.
Back to Pentax...the network of field reps in the USA collapsed about the time the offices, warehouses, and repair center in Boulder, Colorado were closed. The business model was unsustainable without a healthy local and independent retail presence.
BTW...the collapse of Ritz was a boon to me. How does $500 USD for a new and fully warrantied FA 77/1.8 Limited from a reputable authorized dealer sound?
Steve
* Told me by an employee at Best Buy where Sony got premium product placement while other brands are placed on side aisles away from customer travel. This has moderated somewhat, but the last time I looked, one did not find head-to-head on adjoining space.