Ricoh to keep the Pentax name and focus on system cameras
Ricoh has tried to innovate with its camera designs, like wit this GXR modular system, but with limited success
Pentax, one of the oldest and most-cherished of camera brands, looks to have a brighter future with the announcement that Ricoh is to acquire the Pentax camera business from Hoya Corporation. Ricoh is a company that is best known for electronic products for offices, like fax machines and printers, but has a modestly sized camera division, too. Hoya, which is best known in the photography community for lenses and filters, is a diversified corporation that is heavily involved in the profitable medical imaging sector. In 2008 Hoya acquired Pentax primarily for Pentax's own medical imaging products and technologies, but the loss-making camera business has been in limbo ever since.
Just last week Pentax announced an interesting new ultra compact system camera, the Pentax Q, suggesting that Hoya had decided to invest in the future of Pentax cameras once and for all. Today's news contradicts that assumption, but maybe Ricoh's negotiations to buy Pentax enabled the Q project to be rolled out.
Pentax has struggled to make its DSLR business a commercial success.
Ricoh, which is not a long standing traditional camera brand, will use the Pentax brand name and speculation is that the focus will be on DSLR cameras as this remains a profitable sector of the camera market whereas compacts are becoming increasingly unprofitable. The deal will presumably include the Pentax K range of DSLRs and lenses. Recent Pentax DSLRs, like the K-5, have earned good review ratings. This is not something Ricoh's own GXR modular camera system can boast. But what is the real value in Pentax to Ricoh? Although DSLRs sales are holding up, growth is small nearly 90% of the market is owned by Canon and Nikon, with even the mighty Sony having failed to make a dent in that duopoly.
On top of that there is the increasing possibility that compact system cameras (smaller interchangeable lens cameras that use electronic displays rather than a mirror/reflex viewfinder) will exhibit the main growth in camera sales in the foreseeable future. My speculation is that Ricoh's experience in compact cameras combined with Pentax know how in DSLRs may be fused to produce a compact system camera. But until that is realised, Ricoh will hopefully be able to provide extra support for the development of the Pentax DSLR range.
Here is the press release from Ricoh today:
Tokyo - July 1, 2011 - Ricoh Company, Ltd. (TSE: 7752; President & CEO: Shiro Kondo; hereinafter referred to as "Ricoh") and HOYA Corporation (TSE: 7741; President & CEO: Hiroshi Suzuki; hereinafter referred to as "HOYA") announced today that the two companies entered into a definitive agreement and concluded a contract regarding the acquisition of HOYA Corporation's PENTAX Imaging Systems Business (hereinafter referred to as "PENTAX Imaging System Business") by Ricoh (hereinafter referred to as "the Acquisition").
On completion of the Acquisition, Ricoh will begin to use the PENTAX brand name for some of its digital camera products, and HOYA will continue to use the PENTAX brand name for their endoscopes and other products.
Furthermore, with the Acquisition, both companies will cooperate with each other to increase the value of the PENTAX brand.
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