dhazeghi
Mu-43 Hall of Famer
As I noted in Ray's Olympus Outlook thread, one of the major problems Olympus seems to be dealing with is unsold inventory - half a year's worth of m4/3 bodies at this point. There are lots of possible explanations for why that would happen, but my theory is that they're having a difficult time forecasting the relative popularity of different models/colors/kits and that the poor differentiation in terms of price and features results in certain models (e.g. the E-P5 and E-PL5) selling in much lower quantities than others.
I think a lineup like the following would be both easier to market and balanced enough to avoid the sort of inventory build-up that we've seen to date.
Basic: E-PL7. $500 w/14-42 kit. A camera for people upgrading from point-and-shoots or looking for the smallest possible camera with some controls, stabilization and good (better than P&S) quality. Take the E-PL5, give it a 3:2 screen, WiFi, and an electronic shutter. Also integrate the flash. This fixes the current mess where the E-PL5 is basically an E-PM2 with 2 additional features, but for $200 more. Also, a small camera needs an appropriately small lens, so they really should replace the 14-42 II R with the 14-42 EZ, or better yet something like Panasonic's 12-32 which doesn't slow startup and shutdown.
Enthusiast: E-M10s. $800 w/12-50 kit. Basically the E-M10, plus decent focus tracking. If Sony can get good C-AF in their $700 A6000, m4/3 can have it in a sub-$1400 body. This is for folks who want the performance and handling of a small DSLR, but without the bulk and weight. The controls, EVF and C-AF are the major selling points over the lower-end model, and the AF in particular would help differentiate against the older (presumably discontinued) E-M5.
Semi-pro: E-P7. $1000 no kit. The E-P5 was a poor seller largely due to the fact that it included no EVF, but was priced as high or higher than cameras which did (GX7, E-M5). So Olympus needs to get with the program and integrate the VF4's EVF into their 'Pro' Pen. Clearly it can be done without significantly enlarging the camera (again, see the GX7). Beyond the EVF, they need to improve C-AF (as with the E-M10s). A top-grade EVF combined with the E-P5's other perks and styling make it a clear upgrade from the lower-end models.
Pro: E-M1s. $1200 no kit. Why $1200? Because no matter how good it is, people are going to compare it against the Canon 70D/Nikon D7100/Pentax K3 class of cameras where the list price is ~$1200. Barring availability of a newer (and better) sensor, the E-M1's primary needs are cross-point PDAF sensors (at least 9), and good quality 1080p60 video. Weather-sealing, grip, video, and AF (with good S-AF and C-AF for m4/3 and 4/3 lenses) are its distinguishing features.
Colors: another thing that Olympus can do to simplify is the body colors. Move to either an all-black or all-silver lineup, but design the bodies to accept skins, similar to the Aki-asahi ones. The trick is to make them pressure fit, rather than using an adhesive (some type of slightly stretchy material), or if that can't be done, to install them for customers in the stores. They can sell the skins for $10 or $20. The big advantage is that they no longer have 3 or 4 SKUs for each body and skins are cheaper (and much faster) to produce than colored bodies. Bottom line - they won't end up with a bunch of hard-to-sell bodies at the end of a production cycle due to their unpopular colors (red E-PM2 anybody?), nor will they have shortages in one color body and surpluses in another at the beginning (think black vs. silver E-M5).
Scheduling: replacement cycles on Olympus bodies have traditionally been all over the map. Consistent, longer cycles make marketing easier, and minimize the frequency (and necessity) of blowing out inventory at the end of the cycle. Replacing items every 12 months, unless there are truly major changes to introduce, is not a great way to do things. Look at Nikon and their D3200/D3300/D5200/D5300 mess. An 18-24 month cycle would be a good compromise.
Feature migration: consistency is important. Remember when the E-P3 was selling alongside the E-PL5? The best way to avoid that is to start at the top and move down, pushing features from the top to the bottom as costs decrease and the feature is streamlined. Firmware updates can help to keep older (in-production) products from lagging on the software end, as with the recent 0-second antishock addition. New generation features should first be made available in the top-end models. The situation where a lower-end model noticeably outperforms a higher-end one should be avoided.
Bargains: much as I enjoy hunting for bargains on the Olympus online store, they would really benefit from a more measured approach to sales and rebates. If an item is not selling in appropriate quantities at the listed price, either the price or the expectations need to be adjusted on a long-term basis. Trying to goose sales with temporary price drops hurts resale value and smaller camera stores. Aside from major holidays and clearing out soon-to-be-discontinued items, prices should not be changing week-to-week.
Anyhow, those are my thoughts. I look forward to hearing yours!
I think a lineup like the following would be both easier to market and balanced enough to avoid the sort of inventory build-up that we've seen to date.
Basic: E-PL7. $500 w/14-42 kit. A camera for people upgrading from point-and-shoots or looking for the smallest possible camera with some controls, stabilization and good (better than P&S) quality. Take the E-PL5, give it a 3:2 screen, WiFi, and an electronic shutter. Also integrate the flash. This fixes the current mess where the E-PL5 is basically an E-PM2 with 2 additional features, but for $200 more. Also, a small camera needs an appropriately small lens, so they really should replace the 14-42 II R with the 14-42 EZ, or better yet something like Panasonic's 12-32 which doesn't slow startup and shutdown.
Enthusiast: E-M10s. $800 w/12-50 kit. Basically the E-M10, plus decent focus tracking. If Sony can get good C-AF in their $700 A6000, m4/3 can have it in a sub-$1400 body. This is for folks who want the performance and handling of a small DSLR, but without the bulk and weight. The controls, EVF and C-AF are the major selling points over the lower-end model, and the AF in particular would help differentiate against the older (presumably discontinued) E-M5.
Semi-pro: E-P7. $1000 no kit. The E-P5 was a poor seller largely due to the fact that it included no EVF, but was priced as high or higher than cameras which did (GX7, E-M5). So Olympus needs to get with the program and integrate the VF4's EVF into their 'Pro' Pen. Clearly it can be done without significantly enlarging the camera (again, see the GX7). Beyond the EVF, they need to improve C-AF (as with the E-M10s). A top-grade EVF combined with the E-P5's other perks and styling make it a clear upgrade from the lower-end models.
Pro: E-M1s. $1200 no kit. Why $1200? Because no matter how good it is, people are going to compare it against the Canon 70D/Nikon D7100/Pentax K3 class of cameras where the list price is ~$1200. Barring availability of a newer (and better) sensor, the E-M1's primary needs are cross-point PDAF sensors (at least 9), and good quality 1080p60 video. Weather-sealing, grip, video, and AF (with good S-AF and C-AF for m4/3 and 4/3 lenses) are its distinguishing features.
Colors: another thing that Olympus can do to simplify is the body colors. Move to either an all-black or all-silver lineup, but design the bodies to accept skins, similar to the Aki-asahi ones. The trick is to make them pressure fit, rather than using an adhesive (some type of slightly stretchy material), or if that can't be done, to install them for customers in the stores. They can sell the skins for $10 or $20. The big advantage is that they no longer have 3 or 4 SKUs for each body and skins are cheaper (and much faster) to produce than colored bodies. Bottom line - they won't end up with a bunch of hard-to-sell bodies at the end of a production cycle due to their unpopular colors (red E-PM2 anybody?), nor will they have shortages in one color body and surpluses in another at the beginning (think black vs. silver E-M5).
Scheduling: replacement cycles on Olympus bodies have traditionally been all over the map. Consistent, longer cycles make marketing easier, and minimize the frequency (and necessity) of blowing out inventory at the end of the cycle. Replacing items every 12 months, unless there are truly major changes to introduce, is not a great way to do things. Look at Nikon and their D3200/D3300/D5200/D5300 mess. An 18-24 month cycle would be a good compromise.
Feature migration: consistency is important. Remember when the E-P3 was selling alongside the E-PL5? The best way to avoid that is to start at the top and move down, pushing features from the top to the bottom as costs decrease and the feature is streamlined. Firmware updates can help to keep older (in-production) products from lagging on the software end, as with the recent 0-second antishock addition. New generation features should first be made available in the top-end models. The situation where a lower-end model noticeably outperforms a higher-end one should be avoided.
Bargains: much as I enjoy hunting for bargains on the Olympus online store, they would really benefit from a more measured approach to sales and rebates. If an item is not selling in appropriate quantities at the listed price, either the price or the expectations need to be adjusted on a long-term basis. Trying to goose sales with temporary price drops hurts resale value and smaller camera stores. Aside from major holidays and clearing out soon-to-be-discontinued items, prices should not be changing week-to-week.
Anyhow, those are my thoughts. I look forward to hearing yours!
