tom_burke3 Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 I'm coming posts on various forums (including rangefinderforum.com) that Steven K Lee, CEO of Leica Cameras, has been fired. Here's link to a post in German about it:http://www.visavis.de/modules.php?name=djnews&djn_id=50809 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuart_richardson Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Well, that didn't last too long! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymond_tai Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 I'll wager it was about the M8 upgrade program. In any corporation the sales/marketing department is politically the most powerful. This M8 upgrade program pretty much leaves the dealers in the cold by allowing users to send their cameras directly for upgrade. And without the enticement of a new product, say an M9 the dealers are not happy so sales/marketing are not happy. And the Summarit line is not doing so well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james_vornov1 Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 From what I see, neglect of the low end Panasonic-Leica cameras was also an issue. The M8 is a pretty low volume space to sustain a company Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mohir_ali Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 The Hassy CB lenses, et al ring a bell? The end of Leica Camera is near. SELL all but the collectible; but even the buyers for these will die off. I'm down to two bodies for film and two lenses, which will become desk jewelry/fondle fodder, remembering the 'good-ol'-days' in the near future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andre_bosmans Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Could there be a relationship between the number of unsold M8's in inventory and the awkward method of upgrading the M8? Just a speculation of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l_dasousa Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 I doubted from the beginning that an American guy of Chinese descent would be enough accepted by the German villagers who make up the workforce and midlevel management of Leica that he would have any future. Especially one as Lee who has his background in the huge American corporate structure such as Best Buys, whose philosophy is contrary and revulsive to the ideas of the small German high precision company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astral Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 That's worrying! I wondered why the IIIf I just bought wasn't working properly - now I know who to blame ..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blakley Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Raymond, what's your source for believing the Summarits are not doing well? I can see that they're not out of stock at B&H (unlike the M8 for months after its introduction) but otherwise I've seen no figures and no dealer comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad_ Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 I think Raymond Tai above nailed it with the flawed M8 upgrade program... www.citysnaps.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blakley Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 <i>The Hassy CB lenses, et al ring a bell? The end of Leica Camera is near.</i> <p> <a href="http://www.hasselbladusa.com/">Huh?</a> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marc_bergman1 Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Here is the story from Amateur Photographer. <p> <a href="http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/news/Leica_Camera_sacks_CEO_Steven_K_Lee_news_182225.html">Leica Camera sacks CEO Steven K Lee</a> <p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neal_martin Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Welcome to all things digital! Consumers want a full frame (even if they're not so interested in paying for it). Marketing wants an ff (even if they can't guarantee how many they'll sell and at what price point). The CEO wants an ff (because he's a turn-around guy and wants to drive the company forward with his face on the marquee). The engineers will promise an ff in one year (if only the budget guys would cough up the resources.) Everyone can promise an ff for the target date (except for the quality assurance guys who can't say anything until they can test prototypes that will actually work in photographers' hands.) Somebody must have had a conversation with QA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtk Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Sony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rj__ Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Who knows what happened, but I suspect that the German financial press are going to be all over this in the next few days. Mr. Lee, the CEO of a publicly traded company for a total of about 15 months, has been summarily fired. The company seems to have done this without having any communications plan in place to explain what is going on to shareholders, dealers and customers. Hence all sorts of speculation. This is not normal, in fact it's just plain bizarre. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rj__ Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 I should add that I don't mean to overstate Leica's public status. It is closely held and there is very little trading volume. Nevertheless, it is a public company. My main point is that when a company and a CEO have a parting of the ways, there is normally at least a semblance of civility and a plan to manage communications with employees, dealers and customers. That hasn't happened here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sprouty Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Brad: +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan_fromm2 Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 RJ, its all very Leicaish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_shriver Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Pre-announcing new features (such as full-frame) is current quarter "sales suicide" for any company. That's just not the sort of thing he should have leaked at, even hinted at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilambrose Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 <p><em>think Raymond Tai above nailed it with the flawed M8 upgrade program...</em></p> <p>Not so sure it's that flawed. In addition to being an M8 user, I'm also a Hasselblad user. They've announced a similar upgrade scheme to their customer base. I got news of it in an email in exactly the same way as I did from Leica. In it Hasselblad underpins a commitment to its customers that they can buy a camera once and replace its components whenever need to remain 'current'. It would seem to be a fairly considered move - it's not just Leica (or Steven K Lee) being random.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymond_tai Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Yes but if you buy a current Hasselblad model the latest components are in it. With the Leica plan you have to buy an out dated model new and then change whatever you want to change for yet more money. You can see the disincentive to buy a new camera immediately unless you have no plans to upgrade. Even so why should I pay full price for a new camera when I can buy one used and then get a 2 year warranty with the upgrade I am going to do anyway? This is good for existing M8 owners but not for anyone else. I also read in the other forum that he managed to piss off the manufacture too. I can only guess he wanted to make the next digital camera R or M in Japan resulting in potential layoffs. Just a guess but makes sense :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james_porschen Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Does anyone else feel that this might be a major mistake? I mean this is a man who helped Best Buy become the jugernaut they are today. Is Leica sticking to their elitist attitude and not allowing them to embrace the future and the possibility of their survival with fresh new thinking? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack_lo_..._t_o Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 The Best Buy approach to Leica : isn't that like Mars Bars taking over a small Belgian chocolate company? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mohir_ali Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 Or Porsche taking control of the VW group? It may happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nee_sung Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 It might be a major mistake from the perspective of commercial success, that is why an earlier poster was recommending sell all. However, an instant dismissal suggests something other than differences over strategy or policy. Usually it would be gross misconduct. He did not even seem to have been given the dignity of a resignation. If he was, but he refused, then whatever happened must have been very acrimonious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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