SJP Posted March 18, 2009 Share #21 Posted March 18, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) Based on the succes of the humidor embellishment of the "last 100" noctilux, they could also stock similar handchiselled boxes for all their other lenses. Sounds fit for the location + it would separate users from fetishists. "of course the lens also works without a box, but obviously your life would be incomplete if you didn't buy one" What was it Jaap threw at us in another thread? Something about dying rich, which is clearly to be avoided at all cost. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted March 18, 2009 Posted March 18, 2009 Hi SJP, Take a look here Leica Camera Mayfair advertising for staff .... I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
ShyTot Posted March 18, 2009 Share #22 Posted March 18, 2009 Could be a high end 'Outlet Store' for end of line specials, perhaps. M8.2 run-out model and IR filters in every size. S Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
giordano Posted March 18, 2009 Share #23 Posted March 18, 2009 I remember the Leitz establishment in Mortimer Street; was going strong in the 60s when they let a schoolboy play with a Leicaflex. Mayfair even today has a decent concentration both of rich people and of creative types, so it doesn't seem a totally bizarre location for a Leica flagship store. It'd be a bit poignant if they got the old Wallace Heaton site... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkCambridgeshire Posted March 18, 2009 Author Share #24 Posted March 18, 2009 Maybe they will consider recruiting some attractive ladies. I will never forget that when I worked for a reinsurance Co. in London some years ago we experienced a 50% upsurge in business (visiting brokers offering %lines on insurance risks) when we recruited a beautiful smartly dressed receptionist with superb communication skills. Cheers dunk Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevelap Posted March 18, 2009 Share #25 Posted March 18, 2009 .......Back on topic, has anyone any direct experience of Leica Ginza? It may give us some pointers to what is planned. Regards, Bill Forum member JBA lives in Tokyo and mentioned dropping into Leica Ginza in the 'Noctilux delayed' thread. Hopefully he'll notice this topic and post a comment. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wattsy Posted March 19, 2009 Share #26 Posted March 19, 2009 It'd be a bit poignant if they got the old Wallace Heaton site... Didn't that become a Dixons? Somewhat oddly (or perhaps not considering the heritage) I seem to remember only five or six years ago that particular branch of Dixons selling some of the M range - including the M6. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mongrelnomad Posted March 19, 2009 Share #27 Posted March 19, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) Back on topic, has anyone any direct experience of Leica Ginza? It may give us some pointers to what is planned. Regards, Bill I've had alot of experience with Leica Ginza - bought an M8 and MP-3 set there, amongst others. It's a wonderful place - supremely knowledgeable staff, a Leica-staffed workshop in the back (CLAs, minor repairs etc) and a gallery on the first floor. It also tends to act as a repository for unsold 'specials' - last time I was there (April 2008), they had a selection of MP-3s (body only and sets, BP + Chrome), Hermes MPs, Hammertone MPs and M7s as well as all available (and discontinued) lenses, filters and accessories. Honestly, a wonderful place and exemplary experience... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkCambridgeshire Posted March 19, 2009 Author Share #28 Posted March 19, 2009 I've had alot of experience with Leica Ginza - bought an M8 and MP-3 set there, amongst others. It's a wonderful place - supremely knowledgeable staff, a Leica-staffed workshop in the back (CLAs, minor repairs etc) and a gallery on the first floor. It also tends to act as a repository for unsold 'specials' - last time I was there (April 2008), they had a selection of MP-3s (body only and sets, BP + Chrome), Hermes MPs, Hammertone MPs and M7s as well as all available (and discontinued) lenses, filters and accessories. Honestly, a wonderful place and exemplary experience... Let's hope Leica Mayfair does not become an "Outlet" store ... Leica have an opportunity to create a professional superstore especially if they offer a rental service for London based pro. photographers. Cheers dunk Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mongrelnomad Posted March 19, 2009 Share #29 Posted March 19, 2009 Leica have an opportunity to create a professional superstore especially if they offer a rental service for London based pro. photographers. Cheers dunk They might need to with the release of the S2, but from my experiences (and just to be clear, I approached and used Leica Ginza as an amateur) Leica Ginza did not seem to be catering to the professional market. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wattsy Posted March 19, 2009 Share #30 Posted March 19, 2009 hence my objection to Mark's ad hominem dig at someone who has absolutely nothing to do with the topic. "But sir, it's not my fault. Mark made an ad hominem comment first." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill Posted March 19, 2009 Share #31 Posted March 19, 2009 "But sir, it's not my fault. Mark made an ad hominem comment first." No change there then Regards, Bill Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill Posted March 19, 2009 Share #32 Posted March 19, 2009 They might need to with the release of the S2, but from my experiences (and just to be clear, I approached and used Leica Ginza as an amateur) Leica Ginza did not seem to be catering to the professional market. Interesting comment. I think the choice of location alone - Mayfair - indicates that the professional market is not the target. Richard Caplan already has Clubland sewn up, of course. Regards, Bill Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevelap Posted March 22, 2009 Share #33 Posted March 22, 2009 I wonder if they might incorporate a London Leica Gallery too....just as Ginza hosts the Tokyo gallery? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted March 22, 2009 Share #34 Posted March 22, 2009 Whether it's right for Leica to try to raise their brand awareness alongside the likes of Armani, Manolo Blahnik and Asprey is open to debate. I would have though the whole Hermes thing would still ring alarm bells. Still, I'll look forward to browsing OK! or Hello! magazines for the latest parties held at the new store attended by famous celebs while the statuesque Renata from Lithuania is cutting my hair.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted March 22, 2009 Share #35 Posted March 22, 2009 Your cynicism does you no credit, Mark, IMHO. Perhaps you'd prefer them to open a shop on the North Circular Road? How about in Tooting? Quality product. Quality address. I can't see the problem, to be honest. . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted March 22, 2009 Share #36 Posted March 22, 2009 Andy, I don't think Leica - in its current parlous financial state - needs to spend money on this sort of stuff. There are plenty of dealers in London and if I was Richard Caplan or - especially - Red Dot Cameras, I'd feel somewhat betrayed. You commit to the marque, make a big investment and then Leica open in competition. That said, it's not the first time Leica has pulled the rug from under their dealers - remember the 30% discount programme? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted March 22, 2009 Share #37 Posted March 22, 2009 Time will tell, but in moving down this route, I too hope that they continue to support the independent dealers who have supported them over the years. Especially RedDot, who have committed wholeheartedly to being exclusively Leica, unlike all the others. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkCambridgeshire Posted March 22, 2009 Author Share #38 Posted March 22, 2009 We don't know exactly where Leica Mayfair will be situated yet ... Does anyone know? Cheers dunk Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenneth Posted March 22, 2009 Share #39 Posted March 22, 2009 Did I not foretell this some months ago regarding high end brands seeking a dedicated boutique outlet in major cities. I have seen this happen in the past with ski and outdoor clothing, an example is the Patagonia Company run by Ivan Chounard, they opened boutiques recently in Paris and Chamonix- Mont Blanc. of course this type of direct marketing is not a new phenomenon, the wristwatch industry centered on Switzerland has been doing it for years. Mark my words we are going to see an influx of special edition Leica kit that you could only have dreamt of a few years ago. Good luck to them I say, they certainly will not get fat out of me and the thousands of others who buy Leica pre owned Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wattsy Posted March 22, 2009 Share #40 Posted March 22, 2009 I wonder if they might incorporate a London Leica Gallery too....just as Ginza hosts the Tokyo gallery? That would make it a far more interesting development (for me as punter) than some kind of cross between an Apple Store and a Bond Street jeweller. Gallery aside, I suspect the new shop will be the sort of pretentious place you'll have to buzz the bell to be let in and be met with a kind of snooty indifference that Classic Camera (in its prime) could only aspire to. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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