I am a fan of PENTAX DSLR cameras.
As you know, Ricoh Imaging, the manufacturer and seller of SLR cameras, has officially declared in the name of its president that it will “revamp its sales structure on April 1” and “shift from a sales approach based mainly on a distribution network via retailers to sales via the Internet” as follows.
I would like to see how things have changed since April (as far as I can see around me on my own). I am focusing on the following points.
1) In terms of actual retail sales, will PENTAX products disappear from all retail stores, or will PENTAX sales areas be maintained at major camera retailers?
(2) In terms of Internet sales, will manufacturers narrow the supply of products to sales channels other than official websites, or will major mail-order businesses maintain their PENTAX product lineups?
(3) If these sales channel restrictions are implemented, even partially, will this make it easier for manufacturers to control prices (i.e., keep retail prices high) or not?
Looking at the information transmitted by SNS people, there were stories that “the PENTAX product section disappeared from store shelves overnight” at the end of March, so we wondered what was really going on.
As of April 18, we checked the sales status of the K-3III body and HD DA20-40mm limited lens at several retailers, the price including tax (unit: yen), and the point discount offered by each store as a research sample. Actual condition in major Internet retailers and major retail stores in Shinjuku, Tokyo were as shown in the table below (there may be some mistakes, so those who run to purchase should verify at their own risk).。
Although the manufacturer’s direct sales website has been launched, at least as of mid-April, PENTAX products seem to be sold at major mass retailers in Tokyo and at major mail-order businesses without any change. The actual prices variation is quite natural. Yaotomi, which is sometimes referred to as “semi-official,” continues to be inexpensive. Also, although not listed in the table, there was a small PENTAX-RICOH display corner at the MAP Camera store in Shinjuku (K-1II and GRIII were on display).
How will this change in the next few months, or will it be much the same?
The following is my own 120% irresponsible fantasy.
From a business common sense point of view, it would be a very big deal for a manufacturer to declare to distributors that they will no longer wholesale their products, so Ricoh probably cannot take the initiative in closing a particularly high-volume sales channel.
But the reverse case has reality. When a manufacturer declares that it will strengthen direct sales via mail order, the existing dealers may say, “If you are so inclined, we will no longer sell our products over here,” and reduce their business, or at least cause a dispute, which is a “common” story in various industries.
It is also a common that if the manufacturer takes a day off after a dispute and narrows down the number of products it handles for direct sales or avoids competitive pricing, the sales of direct sales will not increase and as a result, the company will be back to square one.
I am wondering how PENTAX’s declaration of “Exiting the distribution network via dealers” will turn out. As a user, I am not so sure that I want PENTAX to go ahead with its isolated policy of direct sales via the Internet. I would like to see a healthy competition between direct sales and retailers’ brick-and-mortar stores and mail-order businesses, and I would like to see a form that leaves users with many choices of purchase opportunities. However, it will be extremely difficult to achieve a balance between the two in a way that makes both manufacturers and retailers happy.
One prediction is that the existing retail sales channels will remain for mass-produced products, and only the “workshop-style manufacturing” (like crowdfunding to produce the “Jet Black”) will become the mainstay of PENTAX direct sales. However, I do not know if this is OK as a restructuring measure for Pentax to survive. I am concerned about this.
I can’t help worrying about it on my own. What can I do to support PENTAX?
Buy more lenses? Yes you are absolutely right and I have not a word to say. Oh well.
