> I agree with you to a point. The inept management didn't understand the
> challenges of marketing in a very large country with spread out population,
> and they did not seem to be willing to learn the cultural differences
> between americians and japanese.
I think I'm going to disagree with you a little bit. I see several
failings that I believe accounted for the majority of the issues in
the USA market:
1. Olympus America. This was one of the most inept organizations known
to man. I have nothing to good to say, so I'll not go any further,
except to say that how they treated stores was just short of criminal.
After continually being screwed, most stores just finally wouldn't put
up with it anymore and bailed out. There is a reason why B&H is about
the only USA store still moving Olympus cameras. Abes of Maine was one
of the biggest culprits to destroying Olympus' integrity with sales.
2. No OM-4Ti replacement. Seriously, guys. What was so frustrating was
that they threw all the good stuff into the IS-series and abandoned
the OM line. My IS-3, from a technological perspective, runs circles
around the OM system. And the lens ain't half bad either! I very much
recall the magazines' annual current camera list and the OM-4Ti was
listed there for years and years with editor comments of "cult camera,
still no aperture in viewfinder, 1/60 maximum sync speed." There is no
way you are going to have camera reviews in the magazines if you don't
have a new camera to review. Obviously, you can go too far in the
opposite direction, which Olympus has, but for 20 years, Olympus gave
the stores nothing to cheer about.
3. Product Pricing. Olympus went into premium pricing mode in the last
decade of the OM system. As the cameras got further and further
obsolete, the more they charged. The OM-3Ti was up in Leica Nosebleed
pricing. What a way to stop all forward momentum.
4. AF. Yes, this was a disaster. Their first two bodies were aimed at
non-customers! Mind-boggling stupidity. Why would anybody in their
right mind invest in a camera system that you can't even control the
stinkin EXPOSURE! I was working camera retail when this happened. My
boss, the owner of the store, said that this was a camera system that
wouldn't sell. We were fortunate to eventually sell all of our basic
required purchase stock (remember, OA forces a minimum order on the
stores, and in their stupidity didn't allow mix-and-match with OM or
P&S, so we had to buy a bunch of junk). But it did take a while. What
really fries my goat is related to #2. When they did do AF, it was
with the IS-series. They abandoned the OM mount at that time.
But, what they do well, they do VERY well. Othewise, I wouldn't have
stuck with it for all these years. Hmm. It has been a bit hit and miss
at times, and I'm bailing out ENTIRELY from the digital products, but
I am keeping the OM system singing.
--
Ken Norton
ken@xxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.zone-10.com
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