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18 Photo Industry Reporter
Strategy Sessions
Pentax: Carving a Well-Defined Niche
ed Bunnell was appointed president of Pentax Im-
N aging Company in October 2007. An industry
veteran, Bunnell is also an avid photographer who
operated two studios in the past, most recently Bunnell
Photography in San Clemente, California. He has said in
his blog, “I’m very fortunate to have a day job that com-
bines my love of photography
with marketing cameras.”
We asked Ned to share with
us his vision for Pentax, and
the challenges that face this
venerable brand.
JG: As the new president of Pentax Imaging, what is your
greatest challenge?
NB: Understanding the realities of the U.S. camera mar-
ket, we need to position Pentax as an excellent niche
brand. Our goal is not necessarily to be the best selling
brand in the DSLR category or the point-and-shoot cate-
gory. However, we have products with outstanding fea-
tures, and we want to be sure that our target customers
and dealers recognize we are a really good choice when it
comes to well-designed cameras and great lenses.
What might surprise dealers about Pentax?
I think there are some misconceptions about Pentax
among dealers that we need to address. First of all, we
were late to the digital camera market, and we lost an
awful lot of shelf space; it’s
tough to come back late in
the game and recapture that
space. Second, we haven’t re-
ally had consistent programs
that were tailored to the
needs of our photo dealers,
so there was concern
whether Pentax was going to
be a viable player.
The good news is that
the recent acquisition by
Hoya is very positive for the
Ned Bunnell Pentax brand. There were
lots of rumors of Hoya wanting to acquire Pentax solely
for our medical business. However, Hoya spent $980
million for Pentax, and most of that value was for our
camera business. With this kind of investment, Hoya is
very committed to maintaining and growing the Pentax
camera brand.
For example, the new K20D and K200D digital SLRs
are important brand “ambassadors.” Dealers will con-
tinue to see strong products from us, along with support
programs. It’s our signal to them that we’re back and we
want to work with them.
Who is your target audience for your line of cam-
eras, and how are you trying to reach them?
Looking at the DSLR market, we think the
value propositions of the K20D and K200D are
ideally suited to advanced amateurs and serious
photographers. For the dollar, we’re offering
truly advanced features you wouldn’t normally
see from other manufacturers. We’re striving to
deliver cameras for those photographers who
want the flexibility and control over how they
shoot a given scene or subject, by offering in-cam-
era tools and functions that can be customized to
match each photographer’s approach.
Of course, the target customer for our compact line is
a bit different; the Optio waterproof series is the best ex-
ample whereby we’re not trying to go after the wide-
spread “commodity” demographic. We’re focusing on
outdoor enthusiasts. The W series is used by surfers,
snowboarders, kayakers, skiers, vacationers, so we’re try-
ing to appeal to the outdoor niche with products that de-
liver benefits specifically geared for their lifestyle.
Pentax is an old-line brand that has tried to break
through in the digital arena. How do you update a classic
brand in today’s environment?
There’s nothing wrong with our brand; Pentax is a
great company with a long tradition of camera innova-
tions. But on Main Street America today, many people
under 40 do not know enough about who we are. So, we
have to increase awareness about the Pentax brand to a
younger demographic. During the past few years, we
have shifted the average purchaser age of our waterproof
Optio W-series cameras down to the early 20s to late 30s.
We’re using these products to
help our brand resonate with a
younger target audience and
more active lifestyles.
Another way to update our
brand relevance among a new
audience is to offer new “breakthrough” products that
will help change the perception of the company. We
started to do this last year with the K10D; we offered a
serious advanced camera with great
features, and it created a lot of buzz
and garnered industry awards as
the most advanced DSLR under
$1,000. The new K20D, which
replaces the K10D, adds even
more advanced options and
functionality, and it is a clear ex-
ample that we’re very serious about
this market. Offering features like
our 14.6 CMOS sensor, the highest
resolution in its class, an abundance of shooting
and image controls, and weather sealing shows we’re
listening to our users’ needs. We believe we’re deliver-
ing products that will withstand the scrutiny of de-
manding photographers, dealers, analysts and photo
Web forums, signaling to everyone we are back and
Pentax cameras should be considered a worthy addi-
tion to anyone’s camera bag.
The DSLR business is hot, but it’s tough to break through
to the top of the pack. What are your goals in this market?
First and foremost, we know we have to think and
market like a niche player. We have no intention of
trying to unseat the big two players in DSLRs. We’ve
seen claims by other well-established brands that opti-
mistically state they intend on capturing 20 percent or
more of the market in the next few years, which means
there will be tremendous competition and money
spent on securing and holding on to the top three
spots. We believe we can be successful and profitable if
we can grow our digital SLR share in the U.S. from 4
percent to 8 or 10 percent by 2010. Using a car anal-
ogy, we need to act more like a Subaru—offer the right
features, know who our customers are and market to
an audience through dealers that
understand our value.
For example, being a niche
player, we accept we can’t
participate in the big-box
stores. We don’t represent
the volume they require.
So in 2008, we have to
find those specialty dealers
who value what Pentax of-
fers and make sure they’re
able to communicate to
customers coming in that
they should consider the
Pentax brand—be it a
K200D
DSLR, Optio compact camera
or binoculars. If a customer coming into a store can
hold a Pentax DLSR, feel the ergonomics and appreci-
ate its features, the photo specialty dealers will help us
move people to a Pentax. And we think specialty dealers
will appreciate not having to compete with the big-box
stores for our business.
The Pentax K1000 was “the” student camera in the
1970s and ’80s. Are there any plans to try to recapture the
younger market?
I don’t think it’s relevant to compare the K1000 to
what’s happening in the digital marketplace today—
times are different. And, despite the fact that Pentax
had great success with the K1000 in the ’70s and ’80s,
January 31, 2008
Jerry Grossman
as the photography student’s first SLR, when it was
time to upgrade, many of them moved up to another
brand. So we never gained a long-term relationship
with these customers. With that in mind, we’re taking a
different approach this year.
If you look at the K200D, which is priced at $799, we
are clearly not positioning this as a bare-bones entry-level
camera. While other companies are releasing lower cost
DSLRs, they are very limited in the advanced features
they offer. They’re really point-and-shoot cameras in an
SLR body. What we tried to do in the K200D is to com-
bine easy-to-use shooting modes and advanced camera
features, all in one body, rather than going just for a price
point. Our feeling is that someone who is new to using a
DSLR can explore and expand their photography skills
with our K200D. And as they become more accom-
plished as a photographer,
they’ll appreciate all the ad-
vanced features they can take
advantage of in the K200D,
rather than having to buy a
new camera body.
Is that good for the dealers?
If we can demonstrate
there is a big difference be-
tween a $499 camera and
a more advanced, featured
Optio W30
$799 camera that a customer will be able
to grow with, it will help our dealers increase their mar-
gin—and allow them to show a growth path by selling
additional accessories. So, the margin opportunity is bet-
ter for the dealer, and it gives the customer the ability to
come back in a few months and look for lenses, filters,
tripods and other higher margin products that help deal-
ers grow their business.
How are you looking to position your Optio line in the
compact digital market?
With compact cameras becoming more of a commod-
ity, we’re trying to focus on certain niches. For example,
our Optio waterproof line offers cameras that satisfy a
very specific need for those who want to photograph in
inclement weather. Most compacts would not be able to
survive this user experience, and this is a unique value
we can attribute to the Pentax brand. From a channel
standpoint, it makes no financial sense for us to com-
pete for volume in the compact camera business. There-
fore, we’re going to be reducing the number of outlets
we sell our compact cameras through. We want to work
with those dealers who have an interest in supporting
the full line of Pentax products, including digital SLRs,
Optio compact cameras and binoculars. You’ll see us
going narrower and deeper, with products that fit very
well with our DSLRs and represent a total opportunity
to sell the complete Pentax story.
What is Pentax’s great challenge and its greatest threat?
Our greatest challenge is growing our business in this
market as a niche player, where we can focus on those
customers who value us as a real choice, and do it in a
way that is self-sustaining. We have to grow our share
and do it in a way that makes sense for the dealers who
work with us. Our greatest threat is continuing to be a
camera company with great products that not enough
people know about, so we need to increase the number of
people who walk into stores asking for Pentax. We’re
going to do that by working with dealers in local markets
and customizing programs for them to help bring people
into their stores asking for Pentax, and at the same time
delivering marketing programs aimed at increasing
awareness and creating Pentax loyalty.
What keeps you up at night?
Knowing that Pentax is a great brand, with a strong
heritage, and understanding that we need to reestablish
our brand as a viable player in the U.S. For me, this is a
very exciting time. I love the challenge and I love the op-
portunity. There are so many things to work on that I
don’t have much time to sleep.