UK division of Leica sees slower sales despite new camera launch
THE UK division of Leica Cameras, the iconic camera brand used by celebrated photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson, reported a slowdown in sales last year despite rolling out a new flagship camera.
Leica Camera, which is owned by German parent company Leica AG and distributes cameras in the UK, reported a 12 per cent dip in turnover for the year ending March 2013, to £13m from £14.9m a year ago. This fed into a 16 per cent fall in gross profits and smaller profits before tax of £561,000 for the year, according to accounts.
“In September 2012, Leica launched the new M camera. Several months were required to consolidate production supplies leading to some loss of sales momentum, however, strong M camera sales are now returning,” it said. A one-off version of the M designed by Apple guru Jonathan Ive fetched $1.8m at Sotheby’s last month.
Leica UK declined to comment.