[LRFlex] Leica's Brilliance.
- From: David Young <dnr@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: LeicaReflex@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, leica@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 30 Sep 2004 08:41:36 -0700
On Thursday, Douglas Sharp wrote:
http://gallery.leica-users.org/Photokina/Button
This is what Leica are handing out in connection with that strange site.
A first glance at the site made me think that some school kids had posted
a cheap page. The "Imprint" made me wonder, the Badge/Button gets me worried.
Is this the precursor of impending mental illness in Solms ?
Hi Douglas!
I'm afraid that, for once, I disagree with you. I think the "Film
Dinosaur" page is well done and the button - cute.
Think about it... some of the most memorable ads on television are from
Volkswagen in the Beetle era. Humour sold cars when performance
couldn't. It's quite possible that Leica will get a lot more attention
with their film dinosaur buttons than otherwise possible for a small firm.
I think they are, as we Canucks say, "Stupid... like Fox".
As for their Design-a-Leica, it *may* be a good thing. Mercedes Benz has
been doing it for decades. For years, no Mercedes was built without first
being sold. And each one configured to the buyers order, not - as in the
American model - built to the most popular configurations and shipped,
hoping it will eventually sell. It made Mercedes, for a long time, the
most profitable of car makers. (They may go under, thanks to buying
Chrysler, but that's a different story.)
If Leica price their DIY kits so that if you order a "standard"
configuration of finder, finish and ordinary vulcanite, the cost is the
same as today; and then charge for custom upgrades of finish, leatherette,
leather etc., the profit will be disproportionate on the 'upgrades'. The
customer will get what he wants, while Leica will make more money.
So long as the standardized unit's price doesn't change, I see no harm and
a lot of potential good in the plan. Good, at least, for Leica! In fact, it
may be brilliant!
Just my 2 cents worth.
----------
David Young, | égalité, liberté,
Victoria, CANADA | fraternité et Beaujolais.
Personal Web-site at:
http://www.horizon.bc.ca/~dnr
Leica Reflex Forum web-page:
http://www.horizon.bc.ca/~dnr/lrflex.htm
Other related posts:
- » [LRFlex] Leica's Brilliance.
