Press Release from Olympus about the finalized deal with JIP

[Ghostbuggy]

On the last day of September, Olympus and JIP have concluded their deal about the future of Olympus' Imaging Division. Here is the presse release:
https://www.olympus-global.com/news...4FeE5D5Uwc5SmCZeWU-e9nAQLKsGHiCkaO8cLJnlXNXLA

Some short takeaways: Service and support for existing products will continue, as it has been announced before. New producs will be launched and R&D will continue, it's going to be relocated to the new HQ in Tokyo:

• [...]With a loyal following and long history of innovative products, the New Imaging Company would be committed to building on Olympus’ accumulated expertise and to continue providing customers with innovative, high quality cameras under the new business structure.
• [...] “At the same time, I am certain that this opportunity is the best choice for our long-time patrons, new customers and photography enthusiasts. Under the new company, the development, manufacturing, sales and service functions will continue tight collaboration to introduce new products that will satisfy customers,” Takeuchi added.
• The agreement applies to Olympus’ global Imaging business, which includes all R&D and manufacturing facilities currently dedicated to its Imaging business. The New Imaging Company will continue to provide high-quality, highly reliable products. Built on a solid foundation, including the Zuiko and OM brands, which are grounded in optics and digital imaging technologies cultivated by Olympus over many years, the New Imaging Company will be appropriately positioned to further pursue new developments.
• [...]The New Imaging Company will continue to provide customer support for the imaging products which have been manufactured and sold by Olympus.

 

[Robstar1963]

Just caught this on fb

 

[SpecFoto]

From the above:

"Olympus will transfer its Imaging business to a newly established wholly-owned subsidiary of Olympus (the "New Imaging Company"), through an absorption-type split. This is to be followed by transferring 95% of the shares of the New Imaging Company on January 1, 2021, to OJ Holdings, Ltd., a special purpose company established by JIP."

I read this to mean that after Jan 1, Olympus may still own 5% of the New Imaging Company and OJ Holdings 95%.

"Head of sales and marketing, R&D and designing departments for imaging products will be relocated to the headquarters of the New Imaging Company in Hachioji, Tokyo. Production will continue at the location in Dong Nai province, Vietnam, where imaging products are currently manufactured. The New Imaging Company will continue to provide customer support for the imaging products which have been manufactured and sold by Olympus."

What isn't clear is that since the Vietnam plant also manufacturers Medical items for Olympus, will JIP be buying imaging products from Olympus, or be responsible for manufacturing.

 

[Jeroen81]

Good news. I'm optimistic about this.
I hope this will bring our beloved brand in calmer waters and out of the negativity.

 

[Angus Gibbins]

What I read into it:

Hang onto your Olympus branded cameras because they'll probably worth money one day.

 

[pake]

The facts sound much more promising than all the FUD rumours people loved to spread.

 

[retiredfromlife]

 

[retiredfromlife]

From the above:

"Olympus will transfer its Imaging business to a newly established wholly-owned subsidiary of Olympus (the "New Imaging Company"), through an absorption-type split. This is to be followed by transferring 95% of the shares of the New Imaging Company on January 1, 2021, to OJ Holdings, Ltd., a special purpose company established by JIP."

I read this to mean that after Jan 1, Olympus may still own 5% of the New Imaging Company and OJ Holdings 95%.

"Head of sales and marketing, R&D and designing departments for imaging products will be relocated to the headquarters of the New Imaging Company in Hachioji, Tokyo. Production will continue at the location in Dong Nai province, Vietnam, where imaging products are currently manufactured. The New Imaging Company will continue to provide customer support for the imaging products which have been manufactured and sold by Olympus."

What isn't clear is that since the Vietnam plant also manufacturers Medical items for Olympus, will JIP be buying imaging products from Olympus, or be responsible for manufacturing.

I agree, the manufacturing will be critical for quality equipment. I doubt a new company could manufacture so I hope Olympus continue the manufacture of the cameras and lenses.

also with regard to the service statement
"The New Imaging Company will continue to provide customer support for the imaging products which have been manufactured and sold by Olympus."

If they contract out the servicing in Australia like Panasonic did, I think for me that would be the end of the relationship.

Anyway the news could have been a lot worse. I wonder when or if we will hear of any of the details that actually matter.

 

[JonSnih]

Good news. I'm optimistic about this.

At least we will get extra one year or two which is good thing for every Olympus fan/owner. We can expect proper FW updates for current bodies - the 1X, the 1iii (maybe the 5iii?). I do think that there has to be a new 43 Sony sensor in the works otherwise JIP would have hard time selling new stuff with the same sensor again in the future.

 

[apete]

In response to the news I just visited olympus.pl shop and acquired MC20 to pair it with my beloved 40-150. I am a tiny bit optimistic about future.

 

[BDR-529]

"The New Imaging Company will continue to provide customer support for the imaging products which have been manufactured and sold by Olympus."

This part seems to be different from what happened with Sony Vaio. Since Sony sold only a marginal slice of their entire consumer product portfolio, they didn't want to have anything to do with JIP Vaio brand to the point where even service for original Sony Vaio laptops is still done at Sony service centers. JIP Vaio had to build an entire not-so-global sales and service chain which they actually outsourced to a subcontractor.

In this case Olympus did sell their entire consumer product portfolio (including binoculars and audio recorders) so it looks like JIP got their sales and service network as well.

At least Olympus US site has a FAQ site for JIP acquisition where they sort of tell that sales and service for North (and South?) America will transfer to JIP as well. At least for the time being.

https://getolympus.com/jip

"Will you still do business with my preferred retailer?
Olympus has no current plans to change our Authorized Retail partners."

It's also clear that the name of New Company does not have Olympus in it because it's OM Digital Solutions Corporation and even in the press release they clearly avoided saying anything about the use of Olympus brand. " The New Imaging Company will continue to provide high-quality, highly reliable products. Built on a solid foundation, including the Zuiko and OM brands "

 

[Breezy]

I doubt a new company could manufacture so I hope Olympus continue the manufacture of the cameras and lenses.

Why do you doubt they will have the ability to manufacture cameras and lenses? They have kept all R&D and the factory in Vietnam that does exactly that.

 

[Sleepy Capybara]

I asked their IG handle if new gear will now don OMD branding or the same old OLYMPUS (which I absolutely prefer) and their answer - Olympus name will continue for foreseeable future and cameras etc will have same branding after.

 

[BDR-529]

Why do you doubt they will have the ability to manufacture cameras and lenses? They have kept all R&D and the factory in Vietnam that does exactly that.

One very essential part of this ability is called "money". Olympus camera business has now made losses for three consecutive years and for example the loss for FY 2019 was USD157 million.

Olympus was able to keep pouring money into camera unit because it had such historical importance and it had become really marginal compared to total size of Olympus corporation (some 8% of revenue at the end) but JIP is definitely not able to spend even fraction of that.

More worrying is the question "What did we get for all this money Olympus spent during last three years?".

The last new high end camera which Olympus released was actually M-1 II in 2016. Some might even argue that it was just a facelift of original 2013 M-1 but I would call it a new model because it had new 20MP sensor with hybrid AF, 4k video, high res mode and so on.

Olympus has also poured substantial amount of money into camera business after 2016 but all they coughed up were essentially M-1 II upgrades which all use the very same sensor and have practically same even if somewhat improved features.

In the meantime the requirements for high end ILC specs have certainly not become easier so even if the R&D staff is still there, where is JIP going to find money to run it and how are they going to justify this investment. JIP will certainly not spend a single dollar unless they see a way to create profit.

 

[Lcrunyon]

Everything announced sounds extremely positive — as good as we could have expected. The foundation looks to be intact, so now I’m looking forward to seeing what new ownership will bring. They wouldn’t be there if they didn’t have a vision and a plan, so now we just have to watch it unfold and see how well they can execute. Considering that Olympus hadn’t exactly been putting a lot into their last several camera releases (we all experienced those letdowns), here’s hoping Olympus Maitani Digital Solutions can do even better for the future.

 

[hoodlum]

I asked their IG handle if new gear will now don OMD branding or the same old OLYMPUS (which I absolutely prefer) and their answer - Olympus name will continue for foreseeable future and cameras etc will have same branding after.

Is this something that we can see on Instagram or was this a private message.

 

[Lcrunyon]

Interesting news that the audio products are also being transferred. There is a lot that can be done with regards to synergizing the camaras and audio recorders.

 

[jdcope]

I came across this article this morning, and it says the new company is called "OM Digital Solutions Corporation."

https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/...-agreed-meet-om-digital-solutions-corporation

 

[Lcrunyon]

I came across this article this morning, and it says the new company is called "OM Digital Solutions Corporation."

https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/...-agreed-meet-om-digital-solutions-corporation

Yes, the OM stands for Olympus Maitani.

 

[apete]

So their first camera is going to be called "OM Digital Solutions OM-D E-M1 Mark IV" (or E-M5 whatever) ?