Well, Scott, the market here in Malaysia where I'm currently working is very
traditional and conservative. It's not a good battle ground for Olympus and
as far as I'm told, it never has been but that's another story altogether.
So the challenge has unfolded and the uphill battle begins for me. Back in
Australia, it wasn't so bad but all of us would love the European market
though where Olympus is largely known as a "home" brand due to the strong
German influence.
In Malaysia, branding power exuded by Nikon and Canon is very pervasive and
undeniably hegemonic. And so whatever they say or purport to do are largely
gospel to many people and needless to say, they incense me to no end. And
because the buying public here latches on to the numbers game means that
they play perfectly into the hands of the guys from Canon and Nikon.
The megapixel war has been played very tenaciously here. So complete is the
influence from Canon - and now Sony - that people blindly buy on the very
notion of megapixels and virtually nothing else. Consumerism in this market
has also brought a whole set of insignificant buying priorities that have
blinded people from the truth of what constitutes a good camera. And
recently in order to battle Olympus, Canon unleashed ads that claim that
their digital compact macro lens is able to focus down to 0cm. The picture
in the ad shows a butterfly perched on the front surface of the lens.
It's difficult to paint the full picture for you but in many parts of Asia
including Singapore, Brunei and even parts of Thailand and Vietnam (strong
Canon market), the situation is the same. I am aware that the megapixel war
is everywhere but over here, its been very disproportionate. And so the
first thing we did was to hold a public Olympus pavilion in a departmental
store foyer but we did it very unconventionally and uniquely. Instead of
just parading cameras, we brought our own collection of mounted images taken
with two cameras - the Olympus Camedia C450 and the C770. There were no
E-series images, no C8080 images. Just the humble little C450 and the
precocious C770. Our intention was to break through the myth and with these
images, we were able to show what a good 4+ Mpix camera mounted with a damn
good piece of optics can really do. We stunned the public and we had a spot
of a day there. We brought in C770s from Olympus Korea where they still had
heaps of them left and in a single day, we sold enough to break the bank.
The problem with Olympus in Malaysia is that exposure to the E-series and
E-system is extremely weak but again, more of that later. And if you think
that what i've written above suffices for what Canon and Nikon are doing to
hoodwink the market, no. There's so much more and the layers keep thickening
by the day. And so long as Olympus Malaysia continues to be ignorant in
promoting the E-series, the more they will be swimming against the tide.
K.
On 30/08/06, ScottGee1 <scottgee1@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>
> Khen, thank you for telling us a bit about your background.
>
> Sounds like you'll fit in well here.
>
> Personally, I'd be interested in hearing more about the "lies" you
> mention -- very intriguing!
>
> Welcome!
>
> ScottGee1
>
> On 8/29/06, khen lim <castanet.xiosnetworks@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >
> > Thanks Paul
> > It's good to feel welcome.
> >
> > I left Olympus in 1992 actually and a few months after I "retired," my
> > sensei - Yoshihisa Maitani - retired from his position as Director. We
> all
> > knew he was very sad and in fact, from 1990 to 1992, these weren't the
> best
> > of years for him for a number of reasons.
> > Since then I have been in touch with my peers who largely work from
> either
> > Shinju-ku, Ina or Hachioji although I also had stints in Osaka and even
> came
> > to Woodbury, NY when Olympus was sited there.
> > I came back with a vengeance only this year after hearing lies after
> lies in
> > the market from none other than people who use, promote and evangelise
> Nikon
> > and Canon but principally Canon. No, I'm not going to use this site to
> slate
> > either but I'm incensed at the stuff they tell people. And so when
> > Four-Thirds was launched, that was the last straw.
> > As a result I have founded an Olympus-centric camera club and will use
> it as
> > a very strong platform to set things right. It's the least I could do
> for
> > the company I love and the one who really shaped the way I think and the
> > passion I have.
> >
> > K.
>
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--
Khen Lim
XIOS Network Solutions
IBM Business Partner
+60 +16 528 6010 / 016 528 6010
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