charlesphoto99 Posted February 22, 2008 Share #101 Posted February 22, 2008 Advertisement (gone after registration) Yes, it's always possible that Mr Lee's "let's roll up our sleeves, take some chances, and get it done now" American style didn't fit with the more conservative German style of business. Maybe he glossed over the problems or maybe he was more of a whistleblower - we won't know unless somebody involved speaks, and that may never happen. All I know is that the $ spent on that god awful website intro would've been better spent modernizing and streamlining the Leica NJ service center (and Solms for that matter). But I can definitely see how dealers and reps would be WTF over the upgrade program. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted February 22, 2008 Posted February 22, 2008 Hi charlesphoto99, Take a look here Steven K.Lee gone. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
agentsim Posted February 22, 2008 Share #102 Posted February 22, 2008 to enjoy a Camera - especially a Leica - you need two arms and have to develop your skills. My admittedly short time spent fondling a Leica was very enjoyable, and believe me, I have _no_ skills Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
elansprint72 Posted February 22, 2008 Share #103 Posted February 22, 2008 Direct selling may be fine for low cost items, but I'm not convinced that it's applicable for low volume, high cost, luxury items. I'm prepared to be proved wrong. Mercedes-Benz in the UK sacked ALL their dealers and took it in house a couple of years ago; it works for them but they produce far more units than Leica. I think that when the quality woes surfaced, the dealers response was varied and this was one way of standardising it; that and cutting out the middle-man. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
elansprint72 Posted February 22, 2008 Share #104 Posted February 22, 2008 .......Maybe he glossed over the problems or maybe he was more of a whistleblower - we won't know unless somebody involved speaks, and that may never happen. I'm sure that it will not be long before someone who thinks he knows gives us his opinion. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
russell Posted February 22, 2008 Share #105 Posted February 22, 2008 Make no mistake. Having to dismiss a CEO is not a good thing. This is bad news. Even if it gets better in the long run. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tashley Posted February 22, 2008 Share #106 Posted February 22, 2008 You can the Amateur Photographer story here. Leica Camera sacks CEO Steven K Lee news - Amateur Photographer - news, camera reviews, lens reviews, camera equipment guides, photography courses, competitions, photography forums We broke the M8 full frame story after interviewing Lee at PMA. Damien Demolder Hi Damien, I read that recently with great interest and almost referred to it in my post earlier up this thread: I wondered whether Lee's indiscretion to your very good selves might have been a straw on the camel's back - or whether, to mix a metaphor, he knew it was coming and did that interview to tee them off back in Solms! In any event it can't have pleased them! t Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
carstenw Posted February 22, 2008 Share #107 Posted February 22, 2008 Advertisement (gone after registration) I don't want to speculate recklessly because I have no internal knowledge nor does anyone else here. I will admit now, that it surprised me very much that Dr. Kaufmann hired an American, and an Asian-American to boot, to run a small-town German company. I don't mean to imply that all Germans are nationalistic and racist. Neither are all Americans but coming from a small-town in the mid-south region of the USA, a guy like Lee would run into some friction being the boss, as shameful and unfortunate as that is. Good grief, what a comment. Having been to both places I can assure that you that southern Germany is nothing like the deep south or the bible belt, and that your visions of racism and whatever else are only visions. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tashley Posted February 22, 2008 Share #108 Posted February 22, 2008 Check out the shareprice over the past 12 months, this in combination with the other facts already mentioned here.... Why don't you run that graph against any european index, especially the DAX? The story would be mildly different I suspect... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
carstenw Posted February 22, 2008 Share #109 Posted February 22, 2008 I couldn't agree more, Tim. I'm not speaking for Mr. Lee but for the record, all the stuff surrounding the M8 doesn't have much to do with him, right? S.K. Lee joined after the M8 was done and all he had to deal with was a mess. It would be an easy task to manage if the company has a perfect product to boot. Regardless of what he inherited and what he did not, and your comments are rampant with speculation, the CEO of a company is responsible for what happens. The M8 is a great, but troubled camera (and we do remember that it was released early, and that reviewers' comments were ignored, right?), and the QA of Leica has taken a sharp downturn. Being a non-German and working in Germany, I can well understand that there might be cultural differences, especially given his background, which could hardly be more different from Leica's. However, he was given the reins and his chance, and it didn't work. Customers are up in arms and the dealers are very dissatisfied. He is ultimately responsible for all this, having been in charge. I strongly presume that he was let go primarily for this reason, not for reasons of racism or whatever. Dr. Kaufmann will surely review everything in the company, straighten out some broken pieces, and then proceed with the M9 and R10. I wonder if the upgrade program will survive. I hope so. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tashley Posted February 22, 2008 Share #110 Posted February 22, 2008 Regardless of what he inherited and what he did not, and your comments are rampant with speculation, the CEO of a company is responsible for what happens. A great deal of ambiguity rests with that word 'responsible'. It can mean either that what happens is caused by him, or that what happens is something for which he must take responsibility. If Mr Lee took over a company that would not bend to the needs of the future, would not work hard, accurately, whatever, and then scapegoated him the mess, and if no other person could have made it do otherwise, then the fact that technically he has to take responsibility for it is a technicality. But if he was just bad at his job, then he is indeed responsible in both senses. Like I said further up the thread, we're about to find out! Tell you what though: I might just sell one of my M8s now, before/in case the bottom drops out of the whole shebang! None of this is smelling good to me right now... t Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted February 22, 2008 Share #111 Posted February 22, 2008 If Mr Lee took over a company that would not bend to the needs of the future... If that were the case then I would have expected him to resign rather than be fired. But as you say, who knows what's happened behind the scenes. I suspect we'll never know what really led to his dismissal. Perhaps we'll get a hint from any changes Leica announce. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
elviskennedy Posted February 22, 2008 Share #112 Posted February 22, 2008 Why sell a Leica camera now? Leica prices have always been more about rarity then about value. Nothing would be better for the M8 price then for Leica to abandon it altogether. In a few years you'd have in your hands quite a collectors item. And in many years it will be as significant as the Leica "O". An interesting and valuable trinket from days gone by. Buyers will be a mix of collectors and those who wish to take photographs that have that "early 21st century" look - not to mention the heritage of HCB, Capa, Selgado, et. al. That's the beauty (and pain) of owning Leica. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
arthury Posted February 22, 2008 Share #113 Posted February 22, 2008 Since some of you are so determined that your precious little Leica German company cannot be successfully headed by a Chinese, I guess I will let the Germans figure out what the problem truly is ... since this is German problem. Adios! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted February 22, 2008 Share #114 Posted February 22, 2008 Since some of you are so determined that your precious little Leica German company cannot be successfully headed by a Chinese... I though he was from the US? I don't think anyone - or not many at least - are using his ethnic origins as a reason for his apparent lack of success in retaining the confidence of his colleagues. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdai Posted February 22, 2008 Share #115 Posted February 22, 2008 If Mr Lee has been proven wrong on what he has been doing and the company now sees a u-turn in its strategy, then it certainly doesn't bode well ... bottom line, another year has been wasted. Good luck with the M9, R10. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted February 22, 2008 Share #116 Posted February 22, 2008 A great deal of ambiguity rests with that word 'responsible'. It can mean either that what happens is caused by him, or that what happens is something for which he must take responsibility. If Mr Lee took over a company that would not bend to the needs of the future, would not work hard, accurately, whatever, and then scapegoated him the mess, and if no other person could have made it do otherwise, then the fact that technically he has to take responsibility for it is a technicality. But if he was just bad at his job, then he is indeed responsible in both senses. Like I said further up the thread, we're about to find out! Tell you what though: I might just sell one of my M8s now, before/in case the bottom drops out of the whole shebang! None of this is smelling good to me right now... t If Zeiss has any get up and go whatsoever, they should have their (and Cosina's) R&D staff working overtime on a digital ZI - it might be needed! I can well see Dr. Kaufmann deciding that this small part of his empire is just too much trouble and putting it up for sale again. Who would buy - Nicholas Hayek? Wilson Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdai Posted February 22, 2008 Share #117 Posted February 22, 2008 I can well see Dr. Kaufmann deciding that this small part of his empire is just too much trouble and putting it up for sale again. Who would buy? Panasonic ... now they can officially build Leica cameras in Japan and just leave the town of Solms shivering. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted February 22, 2008 Share #118 Posted February 22, 2008 ...bottom line, another year has been wasted. Possibly, but if the reason for his dismissal was his vision of Leica's future, or some of his public statements regarding the future of the M8, that may not be the case. I wonder if he'll be buying an R10 <grin>. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdai Posted February 22, 2008 Share #119 Posted February 22, 2008 Possibly, but if the reason for his dismissal was his vision of Leica's future, or some of his public statements regarding the future of the M8, that may not be the case. I wonder if he'll be buying an R10 <grin>. What kind of CEO is that ... if he isn't allowed just to talk about future product plan? By the way, there's another thread in the digital forum saying the LHSA magazine or something has announced the R12. LOL Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
leicabug Posted February 22, 2008 Share #120 Posted February 22, 2008 So far no one has been able to turn Leica around, German or American. May be it's an impossible misson? It is only fair for the majority owner, Dr. Kaufmann to take over and see what happened. It is his money and company. But I am forever grateful to Mr. Lee for his 30% discount lens policy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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