Pentax Ricoh changes name and reveals branding strategy

Which name resonates with photographers? Ricoh will always sound like a copy machine company to me. Pentax is/was a photographic equipment company. Never owned any Pentax, but I would have been comfortable doing so. Ricoh?

i've been into photography for 36 years, and even though, as a Nikon Leica fan, I've never bought any Pentax or Ricoh products, I feel more warm fuzzies towards Pentax than Ricoh.

As a brand, my sense is that a chief Pentax characteristic has been the willingness to try novel things in cameras, with the occasional home run as a result (e.g., off-the-film-plane metering on the LX). Another is the ability to produce really top-notch glass when they want to (part of which was optics in the medical industry, and eyeglass lenses, I think -- I don't know if they still do that. Did Hoya strip that away?), and some world class lenses (e.g., 31mm). Another characteristic has been steadfastness to K-mount. Another has been really good form factors (MZ-S and especially K-7/K-5, which is deservedly a long-lived flagship as a result). My hope has been for one more home-run out of the park camera body. If it happens, they have declared that it will still say Pentax on the front. But the bottom ID plate will now say just Ricoh, apparently. I just hate to see "Pentax" disappear from that location, and it makes me wonder what remains of the Pentax / Asahi Optical "old guard."

The worst thing about this is that it shows how incredibly slowly Ricoh reacts to things. Business suicide.

The second worst thing is that when they decided to buy Pentax in the first place they should have already have had a name and structure in mind for the resulting business units. This suggests a management mess at the highest levels in Ricoh, and one that hasn't been sorted out yet.

Lastly it's hard to worry about the name on the product when there isn't a product. If it takes them this long to just decide on a name it's no surprise that there isn't even a hint of anything other than trivial product iteration going on.

Dead or in a coma. What's the difference ?

When I first heard "Pentax Ricoh Imaging Company" (P.R.I.C.), a subsidiary name for a newly formed entity under Ricoh, I thought guys at Ricoh went crazy. Did they consult a brand specialist, who could check what the pronunciations means in English? Car manufacturers do that all the time, check new product names against numerous dictionaries.

With more frequent appearances in pubic press releases and in corporate life, they'd be a butt of a joke — not taken seriously at all. But a new decision is a good sign, obviously. I hope we may expect more frequent and more serious announcements from August 1st 2013.

So the Ricoh name replaces the Asahi name as the manufacturer of repected Pentax D/SLRs.

How are people reading into this as the death of the Pentax brand?

"Sky is falling, we are all doomed!" :)
In fact, I do not care anymore about Pentax. It is like first love — sweet memories, great photos left, but it was in the past. Mature love is not of bells and labels, but of process — taking photos. That's where all brands unite.

Why not just be called PR or the camera formerly known as Pentax. I think this is a huge marketing blunder and one that sounds like it came from a failing student in branding 101. If Ricoh is the name then change it all and get it done. Frankly I think Pentax is a more recognizable name and one that holds a much high reputation in the camera world. Either way this branding will not have the strength it needs since it appears the company itself is uncertain of it's own name.

Different name .... Same Great Products :) EDIT: I really can't believe some of the comments below ????

Embrace the Pentax GXR!

Hope they won't employ another big ego designer to cock it up.

Seems they got it bass ackwards. "Pentax" has brand equity in cameras, "Ricoh" in office equipment.

This really makes no difference and if it gets some free publicity, so much the better. I'd have wiped the slate clean and called the company Miranda-Topcon. Digital photography/instant gratification has brought so many new people, I doubt most of them even know what a Spotmatic was (or why, despite having excellent lenses, Nikon & Canon passed them by). For their price points, there has never been anything wrong with Pentax or Ricoh (or Minolta, for that matter) but people only know what they are shown, which is Nikon and Apple.

What is needed is a strong compact camera LINE name. Nikon has Coolpix. Canon has Powershot. Minolta had Dimage; Olympus Camedia and Pentax Optio. (BTW: Pentax Optio 450/550/555 is an outstanding camera for its era and type.) Casio has Exilim and I forgot what Sony's was.

I would go back to Optio or find a new name for the compact cameras: then it's doesn't matter if it's Pentax OPTIO or Ricoh OPTIO.

keep the k mount and take the brand name to the planet!

About time.

I can't believe that it actually took them two years to realize that "Pentax Ricoh Imaging Company" had about the worst initials of any corporate entity in the entire world.

It doesn't matter who owned whom and whether it's brand name or company name. What's important is that Pentax has a name recognition in camera/lens business and certain value attached, while Ricoh doesn't have any significant name recognition in that area and only known as the name of some second-rate copiers. Ricoh may own Pentax, but they better never mention it.

Compared to how Ricoh camera's look I think this is the end of both Pentax AND Ricoh, after Ricoh purchased Pentax, I have ONLY seen UGLY DSLR camera's & I used to be a proud owner of the Pentax K10D & K20D.
After the purchase Ricoh keeps pushing me MORE and MORE away from the Pentax brand & Ricoh brand & I am NEVER returning.

They made the wrong choice. Pentax means something in photography. Ricoh, no so much.

So, just reviewed Pentax MX-1 was the last Pentax enthusiast compact, WG-3 would be the last Pentax underwater camera? Ricoh did not even make those.

Without one type of products solidifying brand recognition of other types, both will suffer. Sounds like poorly thought out purely political decision.

Stupid marketing move for their imaging division. Ricoh is mainly known for second rate copiers and the name taints the Pentax brand name which has historically been well received.
The question now is when Nikon buys Sony's camera division will the Sony name survive on cameras.

It is simply Pentax being slowly absorbed into Ricoh until it no longer exists.

Bad move.

Pencoh, PenRic, RIpen even Ritax..

Anything but Ricoh

It just doesn't mean anything, who wants a photocopier for an SLR!
(And before you lot start, I am half joking)

BUMMER!

Sony will change to SON, Nikon to NICK and Pentax will be eventually rename to PENTHOUSE! New names-the same old strategy, dinosaurus sitting on cash eggs....

The long slow drawn-out death of the Pentax name has officially started........now they're just a brand, next just a brand in some countries, the rest of the cameras branded Ricoh in core countries, then eventually re-launched as the nostalgic version of the Ricoh camera of the time to pep up it's sales for a few extra years before the new Ricoh model is launched....

They lost the digital race.......which company is next?

I don't think this announcement is of any significance whatsoever. Although it is quite surprising how long it has taken them to reach this insignificant decision.

meh.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1b26BD5KjH0

Pentax was always a *product brand name*, almost never a company name.Owned by Asahi Optical company up to late 1990s/early 2000s, it existed just a few years as Pentax company, then it became product brand name again, for Hoya, now for Ricoh, who bought it from Hoya.
My Pentax cameras, ME Super, K-7, Q, were never Pentax made cameras. One was made by Asahi Optical, other two by Hoya.
It seems just a few people around here bother to understand what is Pentax actually.

Rationally, as long as they keep making cameras and lenses of the traditional Pentax quality and pricing it should not make any difference. As an older photographer though, I believe that there is a tremendous legacy attached to the name that would be a pity to lose. The same thing went for Konica and, especially, Minolta who had so many fundamental photography patents. BTW "mmitch", if you have other K5 bodies to dump, please let me know.

What's in a name. A lot. Carl Zeiss means more to me than Zeiss. There really was someone behind a great legacy.

If only Konica Minolta had changed to just Konica soon enough ...

Start of the downward spiral... I'm glad I dumped my K5. This company is clueless about there consumer.

That´s a senseless move to my mind. Both companies will have a half line-up. Some/Many users may not be aware of the relation between these companies.

Sad day for Pentax btw.
So, I quess, the lovely little MX1 will be the last Pentax-looking Compact. Personally I love the retro-styling especially compared to the boring looking GR.