> From: Ken Norton <ken@xxxxxxxxxxx>
>
> It's sad to say this, but Olympus will become a study point for MBA
> students around the world.
Yea, they'll be in the chapter between "Apple" and "Porsche" on running a
successful niche business! :-)
There's room for niche players in almost any market, particularly expanding
markets. How many times have the "wise ones" predicted Apple's demise? And yet,
they recently overtook Dell in market penetration. That's right -- "won't be
here next year" Apple is now the #1 computer maker.
BP is different. They are a commodity supplier. Petroleum is a mature and
declining market.
BP had a chance there for a while -- when they branded themselves "Beyond
Petroleum," and were invested heavily in solar and other alternative forms.
That was a niche worth exploiting! Tony Hayward blew that by pulling out of
alternative energy and putting the company squarely back in the commodity
market. Now they have nothing to fall back on.
Unlike Apple. Yea, the iPhone 4 antenna has attracted some press. At this
point, I think it's "any publicity is good publicity" for them. It has not
caused iPhone sales to ease off at all.
My fondest hope is that Olympus fully understands that they are a niche player,
and that they keep doing "niche-worthy" things. Full-frame sensor? NOT! They
can't compete with the Big Boys in the high-end commodity camera market!
Yea, let's push in-camera image stabilization until tripods are obsolete. Yea,
let's keep making long-reach fast glass. Yea, let's keep cleaning our sensors
with every power-cycle, laughing at the other guys fretting over which swab to
use and what coatings may get damaged.
A successful apple (lower case) doesn't get that way by emulating an orange.
----------------
Life creates it [the Force] and makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and
binds us. Luminous beings are we. Feel the flow. Feel the Force around you. --
Yoda
:::: Jan Steinman, EcoReality Co-op ::::
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