Leica CEO to Step Down

[richard_meyers]

Just saw this on the AP wire. Stock went up on the news. Big meeting

on May 31st. Stay tuned...

[jim_a]

<a href="http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/11403410.htm">Leica says CEO to step down next week</a>

[michael s.]

<a href=http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-Germany-Leica.html?>AP story on NY Times website</a>

[patricks]

common ppl, pls provide a free newsource like <a href="http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=52&story_id=19157&name=Leica+dismisses+CEO+as+part+of+rescue+attempt">this one</a>

[dennis_cheng1]

So soon?

[nikos peri]

January 2005:<br>

"Ralf Coenen, a trained communication broadcast equipment mechanic, a diploma?d physicist and a man with many years of practical experience, is the right person to be at the head of Leica Camera AG."

<p>

April 2005:<br>

"Struggling German camera company Leica has dismissed its chief executive, Ralf Coenen, the supervisory board announced on Friday.

The announcement said Coenen, 43, would be replaced on an interim basis by Josef Spichtig, 61, who has been called in to try to revamp the prestigious camera maker."<p>

Might explain the yoyo they've been imparting on the list prices of cameras (and the share price apparently)...

[jim_a]

sorry, forgot that one had registration. FYI, a while back I set up openphoto as the login and pw for a NYTs account. Use as needed.

[patricks]

I like this title from my link: "Leica dismisses CEO as part of rescue attempt". Attempt?! :-)

[woodward_hoffman]

Attempt?

 

Someone ought to start distributing copies of Gene Kranz's book "Failure is not an Option" and Rick Page's book "Hope is not a Stragety" in Solms.

[johns1]

We've all seen this before: firms with an excellance in engineering always see every situation as one needing more excellant engineering.

 

Part of the allure of the Leica is, of course, its unparalleled engineering but let's hope they also discover the value of good brand management and astute marketing sometime REAL soon.

[beatrice_flowers]

Shares initially up on the news, then 20% down. That's a lot.

[peter_werner1]

Leica shares performance<div></div>

[andrew robertson]

If they continue their downward spiral they will be delisted.

[peter_werner1]

The supervisory council and the executive council of Leica Camera AG Solms unanimously propose measures to reconstitute the capital of the company and to finance reorganisation.

<br><br>

Share capital to be reduced by 10.0 million Euros to 1.5 mill. Euros. Provisions of 4.2 mill. Euros to be dissolved. These smounts will compensate the loss of 14.2 mill. Euros.

<br><br>

New Shares for a total of up to 13.5 mill. Euros to reach up to 15 mill. Euros new Share Capital will be offered to existing shareholders in the relation of 1 new share for 9 existing shares at the price of Euro 1.70 per share.

<br><br>

...

<br><br>

CEO Ralf Coenen (43) will be replaced on an interim basis by Josef Spichtig, 61. The new CEO has a long experience in managing companies in turnaround situations. He has a scientific and business education, is married and Swiss National.

[jtk]

They need American or Asian management and engineering, Asian manufacturing.

 

They need a new Chairman and Board more than they need a new CEO.

 

The Board hires the CEO: they have proven themselves incompetent by not serving the interests of the company's owners, the shareholders.

 

The shareholders would deserve a new board if they were intelligent enough to have demanded one years ago ago. They didn't.

 

Therefore the price is still too high. The shareholders deserve more punishment: the company is still falsely valued.

 

Leica's got a red dot, a brand name and history, and wonderful optics, most of which have been made in Japan or Canada.

 

If Leica made cameras that could sell, they'd be selling: QED.

[peter_werner1]

Dr. Josef Spichtig

<br>

Consultant in Business Management (<a href="http://www.mcc-ch.com/">http://www.mcc-ch.com</a>)

He was President and CEO of various European companies in turnaround situations: SIG Schaffhausen, Georg Fischer, Werner + Pfleiderer, Coperion in the automation industry [<a href="http://www.coperion.com">http://www.coperion.com</a>]

<br><br>

Outstanding achievements in corporate development.

Broad and versatile interests and long lasting experience in different sectors and geographical areas.

Excellent knowledge of both authority and industrial markets.

<br><br>

Business management (INSEAD and IMD) and scientific (University Zurich, experimental physics and chemistry) education with global market experience. Speaks German, English, French, Italian<div></div>

[patricks]

ever considered that the current majority shareholders wants the company to flunk so they can pick it up cheaply and then fold it into the rest of the luxury group brands and soon we'll see the leica logo on watches, wallets and handbags...

[peter_werner1]

<i>Part of the allure of the Leica is, of course, its unparalleled engineering but let's hope they also discover the value of good brand management and astute marketing sometime REAL soon.</i><br><br>

 

J. Spichtig is a turnaround specialist, he has done this with various well known Swiss and German firms in difficult situations: SIG Schaffhausen, Georg Fischer, Werner + Pfleiderer, Coperion. While he also has a scientific background, he is mainly a businessman. His speciality is interim management in view of a new management. He may have been appointed by the banks. I would not expect him to stay long as CEO of Leica, rather to bridge a gap, estinguish fires and set some new strategic orientations to be continued later by somebody else.

<br><br>

<i>ever considered that the current majority shareholders wants the company to flunk so they can pick it up cheaply and then fold it into the rest of the luxury group brands and soon we'll see the leica logo on watches, wallets and handbags...</i>

<br><br>

Does not seem a winning option. In this case they would not inject a lot of fresh money. It looks like they want to continue the operations. A takeover after Spichtig has extinguished the fire seems a possibility. But who would be interested in Leica?

[35mmdelux]

How much cheaper do you want the company to get for a buyout? Its net book value is pretty low right now and a small percentage would do it to control the whole company. Hermes would love to salvage some of its investment.

 

However, sophisticated investors generally pass on companies with a small product lines because they're highly susceptible to macro economic fluctuations. Most likely, as you've figured it out, Leica would be a nice flagship for one of the big camera companies. I hope not, but that is what it looks like. We'll see...

[aizan_sasayama]

Where's Canon when you need them?

 

I'm glad Coenen is gone. That interview in LFI was pretty bad. Hopefully, Leica will end

up making a great investment in digital.

[streetlevel]

Panasonic benefited greatly from the inclusion of Leica optics in their digital cams... would

be interesting if they bought it. (And would give cosina/voigtlander something to think

about.)

[frank granovski]

How long was he the CEO? I could post some more Pana ads, but then this thread would be nuked. This Leica thing is a strange saga: As the Leica Turns. ;*)

[chris_henry1]

This is re-arranging deck chairs on the Titanic.

 

The M-camera prices are being hiked to $3,295 in the USA last I heard. That is a non-

starter in a market that has been rapidly turning to digital, a barrier to the still film

interested, not an incentive. The R camera line is where? Oh yes, the recipient of the new

digital body, which has sold how many units? And the Panasonic liaison, which

unfortunately has mated the Leica brand with a digital camera maker that is not a class

leader. Carl Zeiss has positioned itself much better with Sony, whose digital cameras have

enjoyed consistently higher ratings (as have those of Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Konica-

Minolta and Pentax). So that leaves sport optics. The Ultravid line of super-premium

binoculars and the Leica spotting scopes are excellent, but even at the top of that small

and rarefied market, that serves mostly the well-heeled birding and optics enthusiasts,

competetion is keen. Longstanding excellent glasses from Swarovski and new designs

from Carl Zeiss are matching them at price and quality, and Nikon, still the benchmarker

in the class, has introduced equivalent quality models at prices hundreds below Leica.

What is more, there is griping here and there about the build quality of the Leica glasses.

 

Leica may have a problem with corporate leadership, but they are all about the product.

[chris_henry1]

If Leica has decided to sell its new bodies at $3,295, maybe it is time for them to start a

Leica certified pre-owned program for their older cameras. At least it could keep them in

the profit stream in the more accessible end of the camera market while adding some

value to the buyer of used equipment.

[ruben_osuna_guerrero]

Kodak can produce medium format cameras, DSLR cameras, 4/3 cameras and compact

cameras, and they do not make lenses!!!!

 

They are the perfect partner for Leica. Leica could provide lenses for all these product

lines, and Kodak name would be reinforced. Besides, Kodak could keep their full frame line

of DSRL cameras with Nikon and Canon mounts (I think they will not do it in the long run,

anyway).

 

Kodak and Leica are the perfect partners.

 

Panasonic has no interest in the professional photo markets. It is just my impression,

although they could change this in the future. However, Kodak is present in all the

markets.

 

I think Kodak is an ideal buyer for the Contax name as well. However, if Kodak buys

Contax, Zeiss will be aboard providing lenses.

 

Leica could make an offer to Kodak for a deeper partnership.