Ricoh / Pentax made his big return to Paris Photo Fair for this year 2024 after 6 years of absence. A period during which the market evolved well and Pentax refocused its activity on niche sectors sometimes surprising, like film, with the Pentax 17. We had the opportunity to discuss these different points with Yazid Belmadi, sales manager for France and Switzerland at Ricoh.
Time for the interview.
In what state of mind is Ricoh approaching this 2024 show?
We are particularly happy to return this year, after an absence since our last participation in the Salon de la Photo in 2018. In 2019, we were not able to be present due to the events linked to the centenary of the brand, and the events which followed, notably the Covid-19 pandemic, further delayed our return.
It is therefore with great enthusiasm that we find this event which we had missed. This edition is also an opportunity for us to present an important new product: the Pentax 17, one of the flagship products of the year.
The company is doing very well in 2024. It is certain that in overall volume, we are quite far behind the other manufacturers. On the other hand, on the margins, we have excellent results. For the fourth year in a row, the company is profitable.
We are profitable because we have niche products, which stand out in their sector. The Ricoh GR III expert compacts are on the rise, as are the Pentax WG rugged compacts, almost alone in their segment. Not to mention the latest Pentax 17.
Also, we have been able to make the right savings, whether in human resources, R&D or manufacturing.
Were you surprised by the success of the Pentax 17?
In Japan, and here too, we conducted a lot of research during the two years leading up to the launch of this project. Even before that, we had already seen a growing interest in film photography.
We carried out surveys, not formal like surveys, but enough to understand the profile of people buying used devices, because this market was experiencing a real recovery. When it came to photo work and used camera sales, the numbers were impressive.
This is why Japan has decided to enter the market with a new product, new and guaranteed, which is rare for used film cameras. However, targeting this specific market is never easy. Our main objective was well defined, but it did not only concern this specific target.
We launched the product in June, and the start has been very promising. Then summer vacation and back to school slowed the momentum, and we saw a decline in late summer. Currently, we are waiting to see if demand will pick up again, but it is still too early to say if the product will be a long-term success or if it will have a successor.
Are you able to attract new customers to the SLR? Or rather, are you consolidating your base?
In all honesty, it's complicated to attract new customers to the SLR. The market continues to shrink. Sales remain decent for us, but we can clearly see that the trend is downward.
We also observe that customers looking for SLRs are mainly people of an older age.
In 2024, this becomes more and more difficult. In the beginning, we could still highlight things like optical aiming, but there has been so much progress in electronic aiming since then. And that’s without taking into account other advances. Frankly, this is no longer part of our current strategy as sales in this area are decreasing.
We continue to offer this type of product, of course, but today, criteria such as weight and size have become essential for consumers. For our part, we can still highlight the image quality, which still remains excellent.
It is therefore difficult to promote the advantages of these devices, except for purists, who still appreciate the charm of an optical viewfinder or a prism. It offers a different experience, but it's not really what new generations are looking for anymore.
Young people have grown up with screens, whether on their phones or on hybrid devices. Their approach to photography is different, and it is this reality that we must take into account in our strategic choices.
When will there be a new full-frame SLR, a potential K-1 Mark III?
Unfortunately, I have no information regarding a new upcoming SLR model.
Is the hybrid market definitively closed for you?
I don't have any data on this. I can't say if we won't come back to it one day or if the subject is definitively closed.
When can we expect to see a successor to the Ricoh GR III?
Sales of the Ricoh GR III (and its variations) are phenomenal. We had to increase our production capacities this year, and we will have to do it again before the end of 2024. The market for expert compacts is quite small, and even within this sector, we occupy a special place with a really very compact product. and discreet.
Success is there, but nothing has filtered out concerning a possible successor, even if there is nothing illogical about it. I think that, if necessary, we should keep the fixed focal length. If I had to dream, I would go for a new choice of focal length, and perhaps a monochrome version. But these are just hypotheses without any basis.
Thanks to Yazid Belmadi for answering our questions. We would also like to thank the Ricoh France team for this interview.
To find out more, find all our articles on Ricoh and Pentax
