Disappointed: no Leica available to gift

[fernando_b]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

It is from end of december that I wait for a C-Lux1 I wanted to present to my parents. The two most important Leica dealers in Milan, said me they had ordered but Italian distributor was not delivering them. After a week I asked the distributor, which replied they had not orders from Milan shops. After another week they said the C-Lux1 has been discontinued and the D-Lux3 will arrive in a couple of weeks. Tomorrow my parents will start for a month’s vacancy so I brought them the Panasonic equivalent of C-Lux1 but I’m VERY DISAPPOINTED. I would have been much more proud to give them a camera with the red dot!

Fernando.

[wstotler]

I was in a similar situation with my Dad--he really wanted two of these for his upcoming vacation in Europe but settled for having his ELPHs repaired instead because of availability issues. He'd have bought them immediately instead of going the ELPH route. Maybe next year. So, I suspect you're NOT alone. Overall, I'm inclined to say that the Leica Supply/Demand issues are losing them money that's out there on the table. People in this forum seem willing to wait for the cameras (M8s, especially) but I suspect there are plenty of people out there who are not enthusiasts--but do have the money--that have shrugged their shoulders and moved on. Can't blame Leica, I suppose, because they and their dealers don't want to be stuck with excess inventory. They'll take what they can get for what they're willing to produce--it's according to "plan" and it's managed growth/sales and I guess that's better than the alternative.

[Riley]

popular cameras can be in short supply at times, its not just Leica that face these problems

Ive been reading how a Pentax dSLR owner has waited over 2 months for a lens on order

[fernando_b]

Will and Riley,

I agree with you, but please, I didn't want to put shame on Leica, I was only highlighting that at least one of the three - two shops and the distributor - was not saying the truth and addressing his responsibility to the others.

For the remaining I'm very happy of my Leica equipment.

Fernando.

[wstotler]

Fernando,

 

Leica makes fine equipment and I made no comment about that--it's the product availability situation that is just frustrating.

 

Leica has a market out there and it can't (or won't) ship product to meet that demand when there is demand!

 

To put this in perspective: Apple used to have ('99-'01) some infuriating supply chain issues with associated three-to-four week backorder delays and this would drive me crazy. Apple would announce a new product, the date for shipping would come, they'd ship to early adopters, and then run out of supply! And you would wait. But you *knew* that Apple would get it worked out in about a month.

 

Back to Leica. I can completely understand when something goes "back order" or is "out of stock." But when you have a consumer base that is resorting to watching posts in this forum to snap up an M8 (within minutes of the post)--and you have waiting lists out with people who have been patiently waiting for months and still have not received their cameras--and the supply is so meagre that there is no prediction when the "out of stock" will turn into ready availability, one has to wonder if this isn't a strategy and not a mistake. I mean, has Leica provided any indication whatsoever (with the M8) when it would be able to get everyone in line served? (Yes, there were problems with the original M8s, but I'd think the "build" department and the "fix" departments are two different entities under the same roof.) Remember: Wait-listed people were told December. Then January. Now February. How about March or April? By summer, will the M8 be a log in to B&H and just buy the camera kind of proposition?

 

What about the D-Lux 3? Do we really know what's happening with that? Instead of "back ordered until June 2007" we just have no idea when and if there may be more! Rumors of "no more D-Luxes." Etc.

 

Just a quick glance at B&H shows me no C-Luxes, No D-Lux 3s, and no M8s. Um, hello Leica? (I guess if I wanted a V-Lux or a Digilux 3 I'd be OK, though--those are in stock.)

 

In either case, months and months of delay isn't good for the Leica brand, the Leica supply chain (dealers and indies), or Leica.

 

Leica either knows it has a real supply chain problem (and is fixing it) or it's taking the attitude that the market will accept its technology when it gets good and ready to ship. Or, it's completely helpless in regard to supply chain and *that's* certainly not good.

 

That's all I'm pointing out--all three scenarios are undesirable.

 

I'm not angry at Leica. And I'm not bashing Leica. They need to get this issue worked out (like Apple did--they've gotten quite good at not having things go back order in the U.S. for more than a day or two) if they really do want to expand their market share and base of users. More users of their products can't hurt them. It can only help them. And if the product isn't on the shelf then the more casual consumer who is ready to buy immediately--who, mind you, has money just like the dedicated, "faithful" Leica consumer--will just move on to something else. The more cameras Leica sells, the better the "installed base" of users, the more chances for brand recognition, the more chances for future growth!

[jaapv]

I was in a similar situation with my Dad--he really wanted two of these for his upcoming vacation in Europe but settled for having his ELPHs repaired instead because of availability issues. He'd have bought them immediately instead of going the ELPH route. Maybe next year. So, I suspect you're NOT alone. Overall, I'm inclined to say that the Leica Supply/Demand issues are losing them money that's out there on the table. People in this forum seem willing to wait for the cameras (M8s, especially) but I suspect there are plenty of people out there who are not enthusiasts--but do have the money--that have shrugged their shoulders and moved on. Can't blame Leica, I suppose, because they and their dealers don't want to be stuck with excess inventory. They'll take what they can get for what they're willing to produce--it's according to "plan" and it's managed growth/sales and I guess that's better than the alternative.

 

It is a small company - with a limited number of highly trained employees assembling camera's mostly by hand - They are not like Canon that can simply turn the speed dial on their robots and churn out 100.000 extra camera's - and turn the dial to low again in a later phase. Well, maybe not that simple - but you get the picture....

[carstenw]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Leica has to manage the entire life cycle, not just initial demand. In order to respond at the speed you want them to, they would have to have a much larger production capability than they need on average, which would put them out of business. There are just a few, highly trained individuals, and even then, mistakes are made, as we can see. We will just have to wait. Leica wants to sell all they can, but without going out of business because of excess, unused production capability in all years they didn't announce new R or M cameras. The C-Lux and D-Lux lines are another story. Leica does not produce them. Forward all complaints to Panasonic.

[Riley]

you guys might be surprised to learn that the logistics chain costs as much as 40% of the product price. If there are parts holdups, as there was with E400 it can be devastating even though you know its going to happen, there might not be much you can do about it. In the case of E400 they decided not to supply the US market, and ship everywhere else. The product then, must be relaunched as Oly will do this PMA.