Timing of introduction with Panasonic seems off

They made their GX1 launch before Christmas by the skin of their teeth last year. I only got mine because Ivan at Celtic Vision went above and beyond the call of duty, getting mine delivered to me directly from the Panasonic distribution centre. I doubt whether everyone else who pre-ordered had the same good fortune, and I don't think there were many (any?) on camera store shelves that weren't pre-ordered. Canada was slightly earlier and the USA slightly later.

That was apparently partly due to some components being held up by floods in Thailand.

That said, is Christmas such an important target for high-end/price cameras? Aren't these more the sort of thing people buy at a time convenient for them. I know it's not quite the same as buying a car or a house, but the GH3 with 12-35mm is hardly a stocking filler.