[Zooland]

Rumors Arise That Olympus May Shut Down Imaging Division in Less Than a Year | Fstoppers

Thought I’d share this news article about Olympus possibly closing down its camera division.

Not doing well apparently.

[BigMackCam]

The source of this story is the here:

Olympus closure is near, can happen in less than 8 months - Personal View Talks

I wouldn't place much if any credence in the rumour... rather, it seems like one man's opinion of what might happen. That said, there's no doubt Olympus is feeling the pinch like every other brand, and convincing the buying public to choose micro four thirds over APS-C or full frame is becoming increasingly challenging.

I certainly hope Olympus continues for many years to come...

[aaacb]

Some websites need their clicks.... Unless it's a press release (or reported at a level of trust/reputation that tech news don't rise to) all these rumors are really easy to come up with, just pick any brand and any fact as long as it's negative or absurdly good. Remember the one about Pentax shutting down that prompted ricoh to release an official statement?

[BigMackCam]

Some websites need their clicks.... Unless it's a press release all these rumors are really easy to come up with, just pick any brand and any fact as long as it's negative or absurdly good. Remember the one about Pentax shutting down that prompted ricoh to release an official statement?

Wait, Pentax is shutting down?!?!

[aaacb]

Wait, Pentax is shutting down?!?!

Right, forgot to add taking things out of context )

[The Squirrel Mafia]

Olympus is Doomed!

[jatrax]

Years ago the company I worked for was the subject of a similar rumor. A news reporter decided that a rumor they had heard was true and reported on air that we were having issues and 'might' have to close. Absolutely and completely untrue. But it cost us a significant amount of money. Even two years later we had customers call up and say they had stopped buying from us because they heard we were closing and they were surprised to see we were open. That was 30 years ago and the company is still doing quite well under the same ownership.


Rumors have the power to become true in people's minds and can have serious consequences.

[Rondec]

@Mistral75 has commented that Olympus has lost money on imaging for several years in a row, but that their overall operations make money due to the medical division. The difference lately is that a hedge fund has purchased a good percentage of the company and could be less amenable to accepting ongoing losses from that portion of the company.

But who really knows except Olympus' board? The reality is that Samsung was going full bore at making MILCs until suddenly they weren't and as far as I can recall, they never made an official announcement that they were stopping selling cameras.

[zapp]

Same can happen to all. Not enough profit can close operations.

[Mistral75]

There is another thread on the same topic. Having opened it, I must admit its title is a bit cryptic.

The hyenas are out... - PentaxForums.com

[mecrox]

My understanding is that Olympus is facing litigation in the US because its endoscopes have been implicated - so it is alleged - in superbug outbreaks which have claimed many lives. A really bad result in the courts could blow up Oly’s medical division because of ruinous damages, I guess?? In which case the company becomes a target for corporate vultures, break-up artists, etc. So if the imaging side goes south it could be for reasons elsewhere in the company. But who knows. I don’t think Oly would stop making cameras unless the ship was about to go down or the current management lost control. Imaging is a very important part of their culture. However, they could shrink it down to barebones stuff for long-term loyal customers only, I suppose. That said, it looks as though all the camera companies are facing a fairly similar situation in terms of steep market declines. And if the decline continues it’s pretty unlikely all of them will still be merrily making cameras in say five years’ time.

[tokyoscape]

if the rummer is truth I would see a lot more movement in their stock than what it is now. Yesterday was normal, and today the market will open in less than an hour. You can keep eyes on Bloomberg.
https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/7733:JP

I think rumors are rumors. How many time Pentax is rumored to die in the passing year. I loosed count.

[disconnekt]

At the end of the day, with the exception of those in Olympus (expecially their camera devision), nobody really knows whats going on with them. They can stay around for another 10+ years or like Samsung did suddenly announce tomorrow "Hey, we're leaving the camera business! Peace! ✌"

[Winder]

Olympus's best seller is the OMD-EM5 line and it has been 3-4 years since that body was updated with the new mark 3 version just now shipping. I expect we will see the Pen line updated soon as well. New versions of these will help sales. Olympus needs to improve development and release cycles and that will help sales. The drop in sales has a lot to do with release cycles.

[Pentikonian]

Panicky photographers of all brands...

Youtu.be

Youtu.be

In all seriousness, I hope this is just a nasty rumor. Hate to see any brand go away.