More Shakeup at Hasselblad

[Godfrey]

Yeah... but Leica has suffered some market failures of recent introductions. ...

Oh really? What "market failures" are you speaking about?

"Recent introductions" have been the SL, the M-D typ 262, and the M10. All three have been selling very well, as far as I can tell from the activity on the various forums and at the camera dealers.

The X1D is just getting into users hands after generating a lot of orders, and is getting reasonably good reviews from most. But it's a little bit early to call it a "market success" ... :toocool:

G

 

[Vivek]

The X1D is just getting into users hands after generating a lot of orders, and is getting reasonably good reviews from most. But it's a little bit early to call it a "market success" ... :toocool:

G

Too late.

Even before a single camera was shipped, Hasselblad already called the X1D a "global success"! :toocool:

 

[Grayhand]

Having owned a number of Phase One backs and now a Hasselblad back, I really don´t have any dog in this fight.
But, I don´t understand the amount of second guessing and armchair CEO opinions that floats around the WEB regarding Hasselblad at the moment.

Yes they did get problem when they get orders way above the estimates they must have made, + the inevitable glitches you get when you develop a new products. You always get that, the glitches.
In a perfect world you can spend years to fix all your problem.
In the real world you have to deliver, especially if you see a much bigger competitor aiming at the same market as you do. Then it is deliver or die.
I have run my own company for close to 25 years now, and an unexpected success can be a real short term pain to handle. The smaller your company is the harder it is to handle it in a successful way.
And I can guarantee that Fuji had some problem with the new medium format camera. But it is much easier to handle that when you are big and have deep pockets.

But what I really don´t get is the amount of whining about the fact that a Chines company have invested in Hasselblad. Comments like "Chinablad" and such just seems to indicate some other personal issue with China that has nothing to do with Hasselblad..

From a Scandinavian point of view we maybe should be grateful that it was not a US company that
invested in Hasselblad. Ford and Volvo, Microsoft and Nokia, real success stories or?

And I am old enough to remember all the **** the young Japanese companies got in the fifties and the sixties. They could only make bad copies, nothing good by them self.
I have not heard any such comments about Fuji now...

We are all experts telling how it Should have been done, especially after it already have been done and if we have not in any way been a party of the deed.

Yes, it feels so much better now, thanks for asking.

Ray

 

[hcubell]

Having owned a number of Phase One backs and now a Hasselblad back, I really don´t have any dog in this fight.
But, I don´t understand the amount of second guessing and armchair CEO opinions that floats around the WEB regarding Hasselblad at the moment.

Yes they did get problem when they get orders way above the estimates they must have made, + the inevitable glitches you get when you develop a new products. You always get that, the glitches.
In a perfect world you can spend years to fix all your problem.
In the real world you have to deliver, especially if you see a much bigger competitor aiming at the same market as you do. Then it is deliver or die.
I have run my own company for close to 25 years now, and an unexpected success can be a real short term pain to handle. The smaller your company is the harder it is to handle it in a successful way.
And I can guarantee that Fuji had some problem with the new medium format camera. But it is much easier to handle that when you are big and have deep pockets.

But what I really don´t get is the amount of whining about the fact that a Chines company have invested in Hasselblad. Comments like "Chinablad" and such just seems to indicate some other personal issue with China that has nothing to do with Hasselblad..

From a Scandinavian point of view we maybe should be grateful that it was not a US company that
invested in Hasselblad. Ford and Volvo, Microsoft and Nokia, real success stories or?

And I am old enough to remember all the **** the young Japanese companies got in the fifties and the sixties. They could only make bad copies, nothing good by them self.
I have not heard any such comments about Fuji now...

We are all experts telling how it Should have been done, especially after it already have been done and if we have not in any way been a party of the deed.

Yes, it feels so much better now, thanks for asking.

Ray

It's a long story as to why Hasselblad is such a lightning rod, but it clearly is for many people, judging from the crap I read on the internet. It largely predates the Lunar/Steller debacle, but that surely added fuel to the fire. Some of the hatred is petty jealousy, some of it is pure fanboyism, some it is anger that Hasselblad "closed off" the H platform around 2006 in an effort to try to remain viable rather than go the way of Mamiya, Contax, Bronica and Rollei. Whatever, there is a group of photographers out there for whom the ownership of a Hasselblad camera would be like Kryptonite. :facesmack: Too bad, as I think it's best to be open to considering all of the choices out there in an even handed, open minded way.

 

[Iktinos]

Oh really? What "market failures" are you speaking about?

"Recent introductions" have been the SL, the M-D typ 262, and the M10. All three have been selling very well, as far as I can tell from the activity on the various forums and at the camera dealers.

The X1D is just getting into users hands after generating a lot of orders, and is getting reasonably good reviews from most. But it's a little bit early to call it a "market success" ... :toocool:

G

The SL has been of poor market reception than what was expected, the S - 007 introduction was 4 months late and then again with lower market reception than expected and the Sinar 30-45 back was a disaster having below minimum market appreciation or (even) attention...

 

[algrove]

The SL has been of poor market reception than what was expected, the S - 007 introduction was 4 months late and then again with lower market reception than expected and the Sinar 30-45 back was a disaster having below minimum market appreciation...

Don't forget the Q which has been one of the most liked new Leica cameras to come out in many years.

 

[Miller]

Thank the old gods and the new for the fun with x1d thread :ROTFL:

 

[Iktinos]

Don't forget the Q which has been one of the most liked new Leica cameras to come out in many years.

Yeah, but don't forget that my reply was about the reasoning behind CEO's replacement.

 

[algrove]

Yeah... but Leica has suffered some market failures of recent introductions. Be sure that if it was the same with Hasselblad nobody would "discuss" the CEO change either. It's the success that harms competition and aims to generate "issues" to a company that doesn't have any.

Be sure that if Hasselblad didn't have the product line (due to the former CEO - P.O remains at the board as advisor) that caused the competition market to shrink down to extremely small market share, there would be no "discussions".

Now that Hasselblad has the products and decided to replace the CEO with one that can boost the software support too as to also surpass competition in an area which remains the only one criticized by many (for some applications) and can still (to some extend) direct customers towards competition, now is the time to "invent" a "crisis" (or "shakeup" as the OP calls it).

Never the less, companies are judged by their products and sales and because customers aren't as naive as competition might have assumed, I expect that the invention of a non existent "crisis" as marketing tactics originated from Hasselblad's competition, will cause (even) more harm to the originators of this disgusting and (obviously) fake propaganda.

Yes and I was referring to your post where you just had to bring up Leica. The Q was no failure by any stretch of the imagination unlike rebadged Sonys.

I was at Photokina the year of the wooden handled Hassys and just about everyone in the booth was not looking at them put at real Hasselblads.

 

[Godfrey]

The SL has been of poor market reception than what was expected, the S - 007 introduction was 4 months late and then again with lower market reception than expected and the Sinar 30-45 back was a disaster having below minimum market appreciation or (even) attention...

I don't follow the S and Sinar markets very closely, but the SL ... Really? According to whom?

Seems to me that they've been selling quite well. It took Leica a while to ramp up production and meet demand, and of course it's taking time to get lenses out ...

Whether this has anything to do with the CEO leaving is a bit of a leap.

G

 

[Iktinos]

Yes and I was referring to your post where you just had to bring up Leica. The Q was no failure by any stretch of the imagination unlike rebadged Sonys.

I was at Photokina the year of the wooden handled Hassys and just about everyone in the booth was not looking at them put at real Hasselblads.

I didn't brought up Leica (to the conversation) Al... the person I replied to did... I just mentioned Leica's recent failures that (obviously) caused the CEO's replacement... The situation with Hasselblad is different to that, there is no failure there in new product market appreciation, is there? It's only restructure because of different business priorities. Before it was new products that was of priority, now it is software support.

 

[hcubell]

I didn't brought up Leica (to the conversation) Al... the person I replied to did... I just mentioned Leica's recent failures that (obviously) caused the CEO's replacement... The situation with Hasselblad is different to that, there is no failure there in new product market appreciation, is there? It's only restructure because of different business priorities. Before it was new products that was of priority, now it is software support.

I don't think any of us know the REAL reasons why the CEO of Leica or the CEO of Hasselblad are gone, but in both cases it's no big deal. CEOs leave all the time for a multitude of reasons.

 

[Iktinos]

I don't think any of us know the REAL reasons why the CEO of Leica or the CEO of Hasselblad are gone, but in both cases it's no big deal. CEOs leave all the time for a multitude of reasons.

True enough... It makes people wonder why LL, KR and the rest of "soldiers" made so much "noise" about Hasselblad and comments like "shake up", or "earthquakes", or "Hasselblads not being Hasselblads". or other comments of "UKNOWN" origination (of which anybody knows or suspects the origin of").

 

[algrove]

All comments are of unknown origin here except for us posters who only surmise things with no knowledge about any of the inner workings at Haselblad, Leica or elsewhere unless told by the exact party at said company. Most at said party would say nothing of substance to us mere posters here anyway.

This is all useless reading and a waste of time taken away from image capture.

 

[Iktinos]

All comments are of unknown origin here except for us posters who only surmise things with no knowledge about any of the inner workings at Haselblad, Leica or elsewhere unless told by the exact party at said company. Most at said party would say nothing of substance to us mere posters here anyway.

This is all useless reading and a waste of time taken away from image capture.

Fully agree, but it doesn't change the fact that there is an "issue" created by some that WANT to create an "issue"... I guess this (internal business of Hasselblad) shouldn't be a matter of LL, or of KR or of negative comments about the firm either.

All in all, one can only be suspicious about the origination of such posts, especially when the posts coincide in timing with Hassy selling far more than competition does, due to their superior products and improved value.

 

[bab]

You all can buy some Hasselblad product it will accomplish two things one you will help the company and two you will be very happy with your images!

As to PHASE ONE since I wrote in my letter to them 15 years ago nothing has changed I understand the pricing for a lease situation and dealer trade in platform upgrade sales but what about the buyer who has cash? To the OP you don't buy Phase you lease it, you buy Hasselblad.