都什么年代了,还在希望扩大在实体店的销售?为此还要提价来压缩网络销售?
Lens prices and our channel strategy in the U.S.
I realize that many of you have expressed concern over our new unilateral
pricing policy and specifically the lens pricing. However, the new policy we
introduced has both short and longer term implications for our plans in the
U.S. Recognizing that there is frustration and misinformation being
discussed on various forums, I’d like to address a few of your concerns.
To clarify, we have not "raised" the prices on any lenses. The last increase
we announced was over a year ago and applied to the DA* star lenses (such
as the 16-50mm and the 50-135mm) as well as the FA50mm f/1.4.
One user comment I read summarized the situation quite well by saying, “I
think you are seriously misunderstanding the whole conversation. Pentax has
not raised prices. They have required authorized dealers to stick to MSRP [
Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price] or some percentage of it (we do not
know the exact terms). Pentax is attempting to police their sales channel
just as many other manufacturers do. Any additional margin will go to the
dealers not Pentax.”
The comment above is pretty accurate in his assessment of the retail
distribution channels, not only for Pentax, but for every manufacturer in
the photo industry. For our growth as a company, and the health of the
photo retail marketplace, it is necessary to set guidelines for retail
pricing to protect the integrity of the marketplace, and the value of a
manufacturer’s products.
One specific plan we have which will benefit the brand and many of you as
customers is to increase availability of Pentax products in retail stores.
For example, during the last year we have renewed relationships or expanded
our presence with key photo retailers across the U.S. such as Samy’s (LA),
WB Hunt (Boston area), Dodd Camera (Cleveland), Ace Photo (Virginia),
Cameraland (Iowa), Cameraland (NYC), Creve Coeur Camera (greater St. Louis),
National Camera Exchange (Minneapolis) as well as others. In addition, you
’re going to very shortly hear that Pentax is back in a major National
account, which is something we’ve been working on extremely hard for over a
year.
While I can’t share certain details, I can tell you that establishing a
level playing field is critical to our expansion in the States. This
includes new partners being able to carry and offer not only our cameras but
our lenses. The prices some of you refer to are likely found “online” and
have in the past represented significant discounts which no storefront can
compete against. As such, until we create parity in pricing, it’s very hard
to get retailers to want to carry or expand their support for Pentax.
Many of you have asked for greater availability of Pentax cameras in stores,
where you can touch and test the product. This is absolutely the right
approach for us to take and is consistent with Pentax and Ricoh’s goal to
grow our businesses in the U.S. market.
We realize the need for Pentax to better monitor prices across our
distribution channels will likely result in higher lens costs to you.
Therefore, once we’ve established this program, we will consider running
lens rebate promotions in the future. We tested this program successfully
several years ago and these type of rebates offer a good value to consumers
and increased traffic to our dealers.
I would also like to dispel any rumors or misinformed comments that our
relationship with Ricoh is in any way responsible for our changes in retail
channel pricing policies. We are excited about being part of Ricoh and the
opportunities it presents to Pentax for future growth in the photo industry.
I hope this helps you better understand our channel strategy in the U.S. and
how lens pricing is an integral part of the plan. And I certainly
appreciate and encourage your comments on this matter.