barjohn
New member
Yesterday I spoke with around 8 dealers to see what I could learn about availability, especially in light of the email sent out be B&H on the subject. I asked B&H if that email was specific to me or in general the expected availability. They said that based on their discussion with Leica not to expect any shipments in the US before October but that they could always be surprised. Adorama said they had an order in for 50 cameras and that 22 were pre-orders but did not know when they would receive them. They thought they would get their order filled in the first week of August. Most other dealers had no idea when they would get any inventory and were clearly frustrated. One dealer told me that he believed that the Leica stores were the only ones getting any inventory because Leica sales have been in the tank for some time and the overhead cost for the stores in high priced retail locations was causing severe bleeding to Leica financially. For example, he stated that Leica store in Los Angeles rents for $30,000 per month and they must pay sales staff $80K to $100K salaries yet they don't have the sales volume to support the expense. He points out that several companies tried to emulate Apple's success with retail stores but that most have failed, including Sony and Microsoft with Sony closing many of its stores. He said that Leica's inability to provide inventory when they have a sales win is very costly to retailers and that he also sells Sony that he says delivers products quickly and is able to supply retailers with hot products so they can survive.
Bottom line is inventory will probably be scarce for some time and with summer shutdown coming in Europe, availability may be very limited.
Bottom line is inventory will probably be scarce for some time and with summer shutdown coming in Europe, availability may be very limited.