Minox has issued a statement on the future of its ?point-and-shoot? compact cameras after the firm?s managing director suggested they were no longer worth investing in.
Last week Minox?s managing director Thorsten Kortemeier hinted to Amateur Photographer that the firm was pulling out of the digital compact camera market in the face of increased competition from camera phones.
Speaking at the PMA@CESshow in Las Vegas on 12 January, Kortemeier said: ‘We will not do any more compact cameras. I will not invest in them any more.’
Five days later, Minox?s PR unit swung into action, claiming his comments have sparked a flood of enquiries to the company?s HQ in Germany with ?the number of Tweets (Twitter) and telephone enquiries from the local press increasing by the hour?.
In a subsequent statement issued in a bid to clarify the matter this afternoon, Minox apologised for any ‘misunderstanding’ and said its MD had ?attempted to express the following?:
?According to GfK (community for market research), the market for digital cameras as a whole has gone markedly down, largely due to the increased use of mobile phones as a camera.
?For this reason, Minox is concentrating on digital camera niche products such as the Digital Camera Classic, Spy Camera, trail cameras and sport optics products, making more than 60% of the gross turnover for Minox.
?Despite this, Minox will continue to market a small assortment of digital compact cameras, such as the new DC 1611 with 16MP to be introduced in May.?
A Minox spokesperson conceded that the firm will not be launching as many models in future, possibly as few as one or two per year.
It is unclear whether production of the new DC 1611 has already started.
