Name: After 84 Years, Olympus Is Exiting the Camera Business
Brand: pcmag.com
SKU: pcmag-com-11
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

After 84 Years, Olympus Is Exiting the Camera Business

preview

PCMag editors select and review products . If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing.UPDATE: Read what our camera expert Jim Fisher has to say about .Original Story:Japanese manufacturer Olympus Corporation has announced that it intends to exit the camera business through the sale of its Imaging business. Olympus has existed as a company since 1919, but its Imaging business started in 1936 with the sale of a camera using the Zuiko photographic lens. The company's innovative Pen camera series then launched in 1959, and the went on to become a household name associated with . However, smartphones happened and Olympus hasn't been immune to the squeeze that placed on camera manufacturers. Now it's admitting defeat and moving on.As , Olympus today posted a that details an intent to sell its Imaging business to the investment fund Japan Industrial Partners (JIP) where it will form a new company. JIP will likely be best known to people for acquiring the VAIO business/brand from Sony back in 2014. have been launched in recent years, and it looks as though JIP intends to do the same with Olympus cameras, although we don't know under what name yet.If all goes to plan, a legally-binding agreement between the two companies will be signed by Sept. 30. The decision to sell is explained in the memorandum, with the company explaining, "Olympus has implemented measures to cope with the extremely severe digital camera market, due to, amongst others, rapid market shrink caused by the evolution of smartphones; Olympus has improved the cost structure by restructuring the manufacturing bases and focusing on high-value-added interchangeablelenses, aiming to rectify the earning structure to those that may continue generating profit even as sales dwindles. Despite all such efforts, Olympus’s Imaging business recorded operating losses for 3 consecutive fiscal years up to the term ended in March 2020. "The memorandum also states JIP will get to, "utilize the innovative technology and unique product development capabilities which have been developed within Olympus" while allowing for a corporate structure that's, "more compact, efficient and agile." So we could see a nimble little camera company appear offering some very enticing digital cameras once the deal is concluded. As for the future of Olympus Corporation, it makes most of its money from other industries already. The company has a hand in the surgical, scientific, and industrial equipment markets, and is thought to hold a 70 percent share of the global market for gastro-intestinal endoscopes. It sounds as though Olympus will be just fine and probably relieved not to have to worry about selling cameras anymore.Sign up for What's New Now to get our top stories delivered to your inbox every morning.This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our and . You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.Your subscription has been confirmed. Keep an eye on your inbox!AdvertisementEditors' Choice

PCMag editors select and review products . If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing.UPDATE: Read what our camera expert Jim Fisher has to say about .Original Story:Japanese manufacturer Olympus Corporation has announced that it intends to exit the camera business through the sale of its Imaging business. Olympus has existed as a company since 1919, but its Imaging business started in 1936 with the sale of a camera using the Zuiko photographic lens. The company's innovative Pen camera series then launched in 1959, and the went on to become a...

public

Matthew Humphries

pcmag.com

Credible

Speculation

Anecdotal Evidence

Generalization

Stacking the Deck

Appeal to Authority

Straw Man

Slippery Slope

Emotional Appeal

Red Herring

False Dilemma

Illogical

Moral Equivalency

Ad Hominem

Correlation w/o Causation

Semantics

Begging the Question

Faulty Analogy

Non Sequitur

Bandwagon

Dogmatism

Failing Occam's Razor

Biased

Pure Opinion

Hit Piece

Racial Bias

National Bias

Religious Bias

Financial Incentive

Political Agenda

Gender Bias

Misused Image/Video

Study Misinterpreted

Mistake

Misused Term

Science Misrepresented

Factual Error

Satire

Surface Level

Lack of Reliable Sources

Sensational

Not Credible

Investigative

Balanced

Well Sourced

Great Context

sports

entertainment

U.S.

international

business

technology

science

culture

politics

media

health

After 84 Years, Olympus Is Exiting the Camera Business

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS