kodak announces CMOS-based compact camera

[ElFenix]

http://home.businesswire.com/p...0724005447&newsLang=en

$99? i thought they were getting out of the low-end camera market?

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

I think high end stuff is much too competitive now. Slum wars is where it's at. Or go for fashion.

I had a talk with Shanghai Polaroid's lead digital camera director and asked him if they were going to be getting into higher end stuff. His immediate response was "NO" because it's simply too competitive. Polaroid is going to focus on fashion to differentiate their cameras. If it were me in his shoes, it'd be a huge blow to my pride to concentrate on fashion, but the guy said he wasn't a photographer so I guess whatever.

BTW "slum wars" comes from a friend of mine who liked to buy all the cheapo properties right after "GO" in Monopoly like Mediterranean, Baltic, Oriental, etc. and then erect hotels on all of them. Made things REAL interesting for anyone passing GO

 

[ElFenix]

i've heard the opposite, that the cheap cameras have extremely low margins and are highly competitive. i guess giving them designer cred (gucci, prada) is a way to differentiate and improve your margins, but i have a hard time believing that the yet-another-silver-box type camera yields much profit per camera.


i've been reading a lot of thom hogan lately

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
i've heard the opposite, that the cheap cameras have extremely low margins and are highly competitive. i guess giving them designer cred (gucci, prada) is a way to differentiate and improve your margins, but i have a hard time believing that the yet-another-silver-box type camera yields much profit per camera.


i've been reading a lot of thom hogan lately

It's vastly dependent on the kinds of markets that the products will be sold in. The Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and US markets are all different.

For example, in South Korea most companies have learned that in order to be successful, they need to sell a *premium-priced* product that will bolster the image of the consumer. Hence the reason why more expensive (compared to P&S) DSLRs are so popular and why premium priced fashionable cameras like Samsungs are so popular as well. Another example is Papa John's pizza. Papa John's was having problems with its South Korean sales lagging behind Pizza Hut and another Korean competitor. All Papa John's did to increase their sales was raise the price of their pizzas to a level higher than their competitors. No change in the actual pizza or anything.

China is a tough call. On the one hand I know that Chinese people have a healthy desire to look good to their peers, but on the other hand I know Chinese people to be very frugal. Whether fashion or econobox is the way to go, I don't know. China's a very new market where film is still alive and somewhat well... but based on what that Shanghai guy said, I think the Chinese would go more for fashion than economy.

I don't know about the Japanese market. I think though that the Japanese (at least older generations) will go for frugality since they are like the number one saving nation in the world. This could mean that they just go for the product that has the most bang for the buck - not necessarily the cheapest option available and not necessarily the most expensive.

As far as fashion, I don't mean designer cred in the sense of slapping Gucci onto a product. I mean just introducing a slick, compact, fashionable camera that can be taken out on social outings and stuff, a camera that looks good and has a somewhat premium price point. In China and Korea fashion cameras aren't considered "just another silver box" like it is in the US. I know that in China at least, even having an iPod can gain you social status, and iPods have a HUGE price premium in China.