[Rupert]

Just wondering....maybe a little twitchy....but does anyone have any indication of the direction Ricoh intends to head in the near future? Now that we have a World Class DSLR in the K5 and 645D, and could possibly make some real progress in that direction, do you think Ricoh will continue forward or will they change direction completely?

Being an old guy, I could shoot a long time with the K5 and my current lenses, and the huge lens assortment available to me in the marketplace....but I look forward to a new body at least every couple of years. Will a Pentax be there for me with a top notch DSLR in the future?

I have heard little or nothing of what Ricoh has in mind, has anyone else heard anything of significance?
Best Regards!

[adr1an]

Umm - theres been more than a few threads about it.

Factual information is thin on the ground and likely to remain so moving forward until the sale is formally completed 1st October. That isn't unusual since everythings in 'caretaker' mode... However - the future - depending who you talk to - is bright. At least more than under Hoya anyway.

The purchase statement indicated that Ricoh intend to use this to expand their consumer market. They also will retain the brand etc.

Pentax UK have made positive statements about it as well, as seen here:
Pentax UK speaks out on Ricoh sale | News | TechRadar UK

According to Marilyn, the benefits for Pentax are diverse. "They [Ricoh] definitely intend to grow the business globally," she said. "They intend to invest in our interchangeable lens camera production, which is fantastic news to hear on the back of the launch of the Pentax Q a few weeks ago."
"They expect to grow the business in Europe, they have said they want to create a billion Euro business within the next three years. From their point of view it was key to have the Pentax brand within their portfolio to allow them to achieve this."
When asked about potential worry current Pentax users may have about the merger, Marilyn assured that the merger was positive and would lead to more collaboration and cameras from both Ricoh and Pentax that would enhance and complement, not conflict with, each others ranges.

So does that put you a little more at ease ?


Nutshell: Situation Normal, with the expectation of expansion of the product line. It will become the "Halo Marquee" no doubt of the expanding Ricoh Consumer Products Business (since Ricoh make all their money in primarily Business-to-Business deals - with which they have already spanked Konica-Minolta AND Canon in their dominant copier business sector...)


Sit back and wait for the mixed bag of calls of impending doom spiced with hailing this the savior of Pentax.
Your Mileage May Vary

[Rupert]

Thanks, I am sorry I have not kept up with things, but that response is reassuring. There is such tremendous potential for Pentax in the future, and Ricoh, unlike Hoya, is in a position to take full advantage of this opportunity.
The K5 has garnered a lot of attention in the camera world, and is a good springboard for Ricoh to launch its acquisition in a positive light.
Best Regards!

[Kenn100D]

News as of now, there would be a big meeting for the official retailers of Pentax within EU by October in Germany (Malta has one of the official retailers of Pentax in EU) after it is officially Ricoh-Pentax. Right now not much going on, no news and the accessories, lenses and camera itself is scarce my friend told me.

So he said, there would be a lot of changes how it works now. But all questions will be answered by October.

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Last edited by Kenn100D; 08-06-2011 at 10:55 AM. Reason: spelling of My

[RonHendriks1966]

Well I hope they change the system of representation on sales since it isn't very well working in many European countries.

I do believe that it isn't very hard to double the sales on Pentax worldwide, just by expanding markets that it is available. Further growt is to be achieved to better exploid the current markets and having good, interesting and different products.