Leica Camera Company Harvard Case Solution & Analysis

Leica Camera Company Case Solution

Strategic Map:

The leading firms in the camera industry that are mentioned in the case study are:

• Nikon,
• Canon,
• Leica etc.

We have designed the strategic map for these companies based on the following factors:

• Vision
• Mission
• Financial Perspective
• Customer Perspective:
• Internal Perspective:

The strategic map of these firms is given below:

Question 3:

If you were in Kaufmann’s shoes, what questions would you ask to help Leica decide the issues of re-investing in the R-series?

Answer:

The owner of Leica Camera Company Mr Andreas Kaufmann faced a difficult decision of letting go of their most loved product the R series. This product series had a very strong-liking and preference among the photographers of European descend. The camera of this series was designed specially to be used by the professionals and leaders of the photography world.

During the development of the SLR camera, the company designed a variety of new lenses. Many manufacturers made certain thatthelenses they were developing were highly compatible within R series.A dedicated lens mount was a critical part of cameras that Leica used to developed.

R-series was expensive and Leica was a small business. When the company was in loss and the customers were moving onwards new camera technology i.e. the digital cameras, Mr Kaufmann thought that investing huge resources on this expensive outdated series would be a huge compromise.The company had familiarity in the area of microscopy and Leica was capable of producing strong and sturdy glass for lenses. This-series consisted of very expensive cameras and avariety of expensive lenses.

Producing lenses that are both cheap and good quality is almost impossible. The two choices that were in front of the lens makers was to either:

• Mass producing lenses with cheap or compromised quality and low cost or
• Develop lenses with high image quality with no compromise of the cost of lenses making it expensive.

R series received so much appreciation and was a lot of thought, time and resources were invested in the development of this product it was definitely not easy for the owner of the company MR. Kaufmann to take the decision of either continuing or discontinuing peoples favourite camera and lenses series the R series.

If I was in Kaufmann’s shoes, I would have asked the following questions to help Leica arrive at a decision regarding the issues of re-investing in the R-series:

1. Does Leica Camera Company is making enough profit to continue the production of their quality lenses?
2. Does Leica Camera Company generate enough profit from the R-series?
3. What would happen if we reduce the lenses quality? Would the lenses still be people’s favourite?
4. Does investing more in this series worth it?
5. The camera industry is moving towards new technological shift if we continued our old products will we still be standing in the market?
6. Will our products earn as much as they do now, in the future, after new digital cameras are introduced?
7. If we stop the production of R-series what other products we have that can bring profit to the company?
8. What other products will help us stand strong against our competitors and secure the company’s future?
9. Are customers ready to invest in high quality but expensive lenses? Or are they just praising our product?

Now a day’s antique R series can be bought by paying a very hefty amount. It proves to be a great deal for the seller but not for the buyer.

Question 4:

Challenge yourself – what is the hypothesis that underlies your recommendation? What are the core assumptions behind your hypothesis? What don’t you know, but that you could with further data? Devise some thought experiments for verifying your assumptions.

Answer:

Proposed Hypothesis:

The hypothesis we present here is:

“Leica Camera Company should not re-introduce or re-produce R series. R series. It is outdated and would not be able to last in this era wherethe technological shift is seen almost on daily basis.”

Proposed hypothesis number 2:

“If Leica doesn’t adopt the technological shift they will be left out in the industry.”

Core Assumptions of the Proposed Hypothesis:

People loved R series and were upset on the news of it closing down. Some of the Leica’s fan protested against the company to stop this critical decision and continue the production and selling of R series. Some forced the owner to again bring back the product after it was taken down. We stand with Leica’s decision to not re-introducing the R series and discontinuing its production. The aforementioned hypothesis was made on the following core assumptions:

• Even though R series was loved by many and was a product that promises quality to its customers it's manufacturing and production was expensive. Leica being a small company did not have enough revenue to continue with the production of this product series. Even if they did continue the quality of the product would have been compromised.
• Since camera industry is going through a technological shift and the competitors of Leica were adopting new technologies and were introducing new products frequently, if Leica continued with their sales of R series they soon would have been rejected by the industry and even by their loyal customers. Customers are always looking for a new and innovative product they would have only supported this product for a limited time and then eventually would have moved to a better product.
• R series was an expensive product. Competitors within the market we're introducing dupes of this product with a little bit of compromised quality and in the lesser price than the original R series. Customers were appreciating Leica’s quality control but the sales in the future would have not been up to mark and the company would not earn enough profit...................
• This is just a sample partial case solution. Please place the order on the website to order your own originally done case solution.

Related Case Solutions & Analyses:

Thought Leader Interview: Linus Torvalds Anja Bremmers Influencing Challenge On Point: The Art of Using PowerPoint Gobi Partners: October 2004 Battery Ventures What If … Harvard Management Company (2010) BROOKWOOD CP INVESTORS, LLC Apple Inc. The Volkswagen No*Gate