What would I like to see in a future Pen F... a OM-4 with a 30mp sensor that has everything in the OM-1.
I would hate to see OMS squander any hard-earned profits
There are no "hard earned profits to squander"
They are yet to become profitable at all
They have been profitable for years out from under Medical.
https://www.lesnumeriques.com/appar...tem-en-route-vers-la-renaissance-n218988.html
https://www.imaging-resource.com/ne...3-details-100-400mm-and-future-lenses-pen-f-a
That French OM marketing guy surely knows how to spin facts around, kudos. Feels like listening to conversations in a used car sales yard.
I know meanwhile hard data from a very respected Japanese business publication where actual facts matter is ignored by the fanatics in their endless attempts to promote an agenda clear to everyone
The major Japanese business guide published actual unit sales last October for the entire world output of the Japanese makers. OM shipped the least units of any main brand
Direct link to publication
https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/4492973346
A chart showing actual units shipped world wide by maker , posted for those of us who don’t speak Japanese
It confirms my previous rough estimate of 2-3% market share for OM:
***
Adding up mirrorless cameras = 4.38mio
Adding up DSLR = 1.06 mio
Together worldwide ILC sales of Japanese ILC = 5.44mio
OM worldwide ILC sales =0.12mio
0.12 x 100 / 5.44 =
2.205% ILC market share for OM, trend dropping
***
Adding up compact cameras = 1.26mio
OM compact sales =0.06mio
0.06 x 100 / 1.26 =
4.76% Compact (TG7) market share for OM, trend dropping
(Interesting observation: The $550 TG diving camera alone accounts for 1/3d of all OM camera sales by numbers. This affects the average price per camera sold quite a bit downwards, from what people usually think.)
***
Adding up ILC and compact cameras = 6.7mio
OM ILC and compact cameras = 0.18mio
0.18 x100 / 6.7 =
2.68% digital camera market share for OM, trend dropping
***
OM has today just half of the former imaging division headcount. But it is not that they now produce more cameras per head.
They reduced headcount alright (and thereby overall cost of doing business), but failed to improve productivity. That is not the idea of "right-sizing". In 2018 Olympus imaging had a market share of 4.7%, now it is 2.68%, which correlates pretty linearly with a 50% "downsizing". Ok, possibly they already reduced head count down to 40%, but they still have a long way to go for a true turnaround.
"In business, right-sizing refers to the strategic process of adjusting a company's workforce and resources to align with its current and future business needs and objectives. It's a more comprehensive approach than simple downsizing, often involving both reductions and additions to the workforce, as well as reorganizing teams, reallocating resources, and optimizing processes"
To me, it looks more like a slow "Pentaxisation". Because without a healthy sizeable profit surplus, they can never invest in the necessary R&D to avoid that fate.
OM Digital Results 2021-2023
2023 … Sales: 29.2 billion yen / Operating profit: -210 million yen
2022 … Sales: 28.2 billion yen / Operating profit: -640 million yen
2021 … Sales: 21.9 billion yen / Operating profit: -1.8 billion yen
So thanks to major cost cutting and a very significant reduction in staff they are at least heading in the right direction.
Yes, they indeed managed to greatly reduce losses (if the figures released are true, remember this is a privately owned company not traded in stock exchange, under no obligation to release any figures at all, and what they release voluntarily does not require to be true by any law. It could be just a marketing fabrication, and that would still be perfectly legal).
But assuming these figures are indeed true, I fear this is to a large portion achieved by cuts to R&D expenses.
Hopefully they will establish a successful niche going forward .It is wishful thinking that m43 will ever be anything but a small niche player , but they don't need to be
I think the fanatics need some branding tips