Then Pentax can only hope to garner a smaller and smaller market share as
time goes on, I would expect.
There's alot of things I don't know much about Paul. However I do know that
to sell a lot of a product and compete one must likely have a visible
presence. BTW, I already understood the principle you expounded.
If Pentax isn't in that game, then I have no idea what to think as they are
either excluding themselves from it deliberately or their costs for the
product are too high for them to compete. Either way, where does that leave
us?
The thing is, I have seen most of these retailers carry a Pentax DSLR at one
time or another. Am I to assume that Pentax gave merchant X a better break
3 months ago then they are giving them now? Maybe so. Or Pentax can't
deliver product? Or retailer has a hard time selling product? Am I to
assume that Nikon and Canon are merely dumping product? Um, maybe so, in a
manner of speaking.
Most of these retailers not displaying Pentax consistently on the sales
floor, do offer Pentax DLSR's online (actually available or not, I don't
know). I am simply pointing out that if a product is not set before a large
portion of the purchasing public, one can expect to sell relatively few of
given product.
BestBuy sells the *ist DL online and two lenses, but if customer A, B, or C
doesn't see it when they walk in the store to make a purchase, they likely
won't purchase it.
Circuit City sells 4 Pentax AF lenses online, no DSLR's. I wonder when the
last time they sold one was (or one of the lenses they have no camera for).
CompUSA sells no Pentax product online at the moment.
Costco sells no Pentax DSLR's online at the moment. only a 4MP Optio.
Fry's amazingly, lists only the *ist D at $1399.99 and 3 lenses.
This may not affect you or I so much as if we already want a Pentax product
we know where to go look for it (whether it's available or not is apparently
a different matter).
What I am attempting to simply state is that Pentax has not established/may
not be establishing a market presence in which they can compete with the
other players. If they are not gaining market share, they are likely losing
market share. The less they sell, the fewer they will produce to sell, the
more they will cost to produce, the less chance they have of competing.
Downward spiral.
The sky may not be falling straight down like a lead balloon, but on the
other hand I'm not sure it's staying put where most would like it to stay.
Tom C.
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Reply-To: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Pentax Pre PMA announcment.
Date: Thu, 16 Feb 2006 19:09:43 +0000
-------------- Original message ----------------------
From: "Tom C" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> I'm shocked that Pentax does not have at least a *visible* DSLR presence
> *consistently* in these major mass retailers.
Really? Then you don't know much about marketing. The mass retailers buy
only with big margins. A lot of manufacturers won't play that game. Pentax
can evidently sell all it can produce through channels that give them a
better wholesale price. It would make no sense for them to get involved in
the mass mass retailer market unless they have inventory to dump. That's
why you'll occassionally see an optio or other tidbit show up on the
shelves at Best Buy or Costco, but by and large, Pentax is apparently not a
player in that game.
Paul
