Panasonic and Bad Timing

[sanveer]

I guess well-informed indie filmmakers would know that Panasonic makes some of the best low budget indie filmmaking cameras for the buck. And that one of Panasonic's worst problems stems around bad sales, due to poor marketing and terrible after sales (not in all countries, but in many). Add to this, the fact that they haven't Specifically targeted capturing India and China for their enormous potential and one can pretty much understand the state of affairs of their camera division. Which quite honestly, is bad for the low budget Indie Filmmaking Community as a whole.

Now it appears Panasonic is restructuring it's camera division and retrenching people from the camera division and absorbing whoecer is left, elsewhere. 

("Three other businesses units -- digital cameras, private branch exchange telephone systems and optical disk drives -- will be dismantled. Each will be scaled back and placed under the umbrella of other operations, with headcount to be reduced.")

IMHO this is just bad timing, considering that people were predicting that the GH5 would break the 60,000 units camera annual sales record of the GH4 at its peak.

While this doesn't mean that Panasonic would be shutting down its Camera Division, it just is very bad timing, especially considering that the GH5 is around any moment (early units have already been shipped and users are very happy with them), and buying nay lose confidence.

I think Panasonic needs to Clarify and Pacify customers who have bought into the system and many others who are hoping to pick up some great low budget indie filmmaking gear. Also they need to get SERIOUS with their marketing regarding the audience for their cameras. 

Source: 

http://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/Panasonic-takes-out-scalpel-again-as-profits-falter

[Wulf]

Yes, I hesitate to post that info.

But wait a minute: Are you sure that the GH is even part of the (still) camera department? Probably they are belonging to the movie division.

The consumer still market is dying and that's where traditionally the big money was made. Videographers are only a small niche; 60,ooo sold bodies sounds much, but in reality the margins are not really big if you consider all the R&D and the overhead.

Sony restructered their business two years ago, Nikon did it a month ago, Olympus too, others will follow. Apart for the poors guys who get fired this are good news indead, as it's the only solution for surviving in a hostile enviroment. They had to do it right now as the fiscal year is ending. But that did not mean they are dying. Think of Sigma, Pentax and Fuji.

[ntblowz]

http://www.panasonic.com/global/corporate/ir/pdf/panasonic_ar2016_e.pdf

On page 67 it said mirrorless sales increased, so most likely the dc will get the boot but not mirrorless camera

[tweak]

1 hour ago, Wulf said:

Yes, I hesitate to post that info.

But wait a minute: Are you sure that the GH is even part of the (still) camera department? Probably they are belonging to the movie division.

It has all been one unit for a year now already.

[OliKMIA]

Restructuring a business unit doesn't mean suppressing the activity behind the division, it's just a corporate management thing. Might not necessarily be a bad thing if it brings more innovation, cost reduction and keep the finance department under control. It's better to act before hand than letting a division die or appear vulnerable internally. So far we don't know the details, there could be a lot of internal "politics".

And yes, 60k units sold over a year is not that much for a company with 250,000 employee (btw where did that sales number come from ?)
In that type of business, the manufacturer get a third of the sales price, the retailer another third and the production cost the last third. For a $2000 camera, Pana margin is something like $600 x 60,000 units = $36 millions which is a drop over its $62 billions/ year revenue

 

[sanveer]

Andrew Reid could you PLEASE delete this Post. It's Bad Timing. And we should all try and Panasonic do well and hope and pray. 

[dbp]

30 minutes ago, sanveer said:

Andrew Reid could you PLEASE delete this Post. It's Bad Timing. And we should all try and Panasonic do well and hope and pray. 

Why? It's good discussion material. Please don't let this place be another that sticks it head in the sand saying "lalala I can't hear you" about certain issues.

[zerocool22]

I think the GH5 will sell a massive amount of camera's! Panasonic will surely profit from this camera, I dont think the GH line is going anywhere in the next couple of years. If they need to scrap some camera's, they can scrap the dvx line for example. 

[Don Kotlos]

Thom Hogan wrote an interesting piece: http://www.sansmirror.com/newsviews/panasonic-hints-at-changes.html

His summary for the mirrorless room: 

"Looked at a different way, Fujifilm and Sony are the two elephants that have decided this is their room and walk around as if they own it. A small Canon elephant wandered in and decided that they liked it, and may soon bring more of the herd with them. Nikon sent a tiny, under-sized elephant into the room, it pranced around for awhile, but everyone mostly ignored it. Olympus and Panasonic are scratching their heads saying "wait, we invented this room." 

 

 

[Kisaha]

Good read. Maybe there is not enough room, in this particular room, for all these elephants, but there are other smaller rooms in this house, and Panasonic seems to inhabit quite nice the video room for quite some time now.

Just have a couple of mirrorless models, and concentrate more on video.

Everything of the GH5 on a C100 body, for 5500$ (give or take 500$!), with more room for heat dissipation and bigger batteries, and you have an instant hit.

They used to have the 100, and have the DVX200, and JVC has the LS300, just combine everything and do a good video camera.

If they do not fit in the video room (Canon/Sony, Fuji seems to care more now, BlackMAgic), then they won't fit anywhere soon!

[Andrew Reid]

Here's what's really going on - 

http://www.eoshd.com/2017/03/panasonic-will-accelerate-lumix-project-new-structure/

It's good stuff and very positive for cameras like the GH5.

The frenzy of speculation as usual comes from a lot of lazy internet journalism where sites like 43rumors look at one word in one article at Nikkei and base the headline on it, when a bit of research back just 2 months would have found the managers at Panasonic explaining in depth exactly what was planned! Ridiculous!