In all the years that I’ve worked on turning around troubled companies, the one thing I’ve found most have in common in moving down the “spiral of destruction” is that they became disconnected from their customers while continuing to pursue their own ideas about how things “should” be.

Its no mystery around here that I am a big fan of Leica M rangefinder cameras (not the SLR’s). Leica’s name is synonymous with excellence and craftsmanship, and its history parallels the evolution of photography from Salon Art to documentary force.

Leica in its various incarnations has been in trouble before and has changed many hands as various “angel” investors have sought to save it and leverage its reputation. Unlike many other great names that have disappeared as functional entities and have become mere “brands” for their new owners, Leica remains a functioning camera producer, still pursuing a mission of making great “heritage” cameras (the M’s) while at the same time dallying at the fringes of modern consumer marketing through its partnership with Panasonic.

A coule of years ago, Leica pulled off a minor technical miracle in creating a digital M, the M-8. While the camera had many glitches (most were rectified or adapted), buyers were pretty forgiving considering what had been accomplished. The price remained a barrier (at close to 6 grand for the body), although many did take the plunge. A couple of days ago, Leica announced the M-8.2, a “new” model with improvements to the shutter’s noise output, and a more scratch-resistant LCD glass, as well as a few other minor enhancements. Same camera, just the normal adjustments and minor improvements most camera makers make from time to time. Unlike most camera makers however, Leica keeps the “old” model on the market and jacks up the price of the new one by $1500 (estimated from the press release)!

Most companies attuned to the modern customer know that there is very little tolerance for such hijinks these days. You can’t keep trying to fool all of the customers all of the time. A “new” model has to be either dramatically better and different, or it just stays the same model with minor improvements and the same price as before. For example, a Leica M-9 with a larger sensor would qualify as a truly new model worthy of a higher price. But keeping old cameras with inferior technology in play, at exorbitant prices, is, IMHO, diagnostic of a company management divorced from both market and customer realities. Not good.