Leica Camera Mayfair advertising for staff ...

[SJP]

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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.

[ShyTot]

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

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[giordano]

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...

[dkCambridgeshire]

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

[stevelap]

.......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.

[wattsy]

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.

[mongrelnomad]

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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...

[dkCambridgeshire]

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

[mongrelnomad]

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.

[wattsy]

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."

[bill]

"But sir, it's not my fault. Mark made an ad hominem comment first."

 

No change there then

 

Regards,

 

Bill

[bill]

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

[stevelap]

I wonder if they might incorporate a London Leica Gallery too....just as Ginza hosts the Tokyo gallery?

[marknorton]

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....

[andybarton]

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.

 

.

[marknorton]

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?

[andybarton]

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.

[dkCambridgeshire]

We don't know exactly where Leica Mayfair will be situated yet ... Does anyone know?

 

Cheers

 

dunk

[kenneth]

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

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[wattsy]

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.