New Leica Cabinet Installed In Murray Street - Revolutionary Unique Design

Which is a blatant lie. It's a Leica Boutique cabinet - it looks the same as the Leica Boutique cabinet in the Stirling Street store. Which looks the same as the Leica Boutique cabinets in Tokyo, Singapore, Sydney, and probably every other major city in the world. Black MDF cabinet, red interior, red dot on top.

Leica are smart people - and I am not talking just about the cameras and lenses and binoculars...they are smart with their branding. They realised early on that they had a name that was worth putting on a banner and were careful to cut the banner the same size for everywhere and put it on the same pole. As a business strategy it is akin to a national government deciding on a flag and making sure that it is seen everywhere. It re-enforces loyalty, and in this case it re-enforces the sort of loyalty that the customers actually want to pay for.

Brilliant.

Of course, each manufacturer has a characteristic colour combination, and you'll see that used in advertising and signage. The more adventurous ones have a bright colour that attracts the eye so that people snap to their displays in the shops. These days, they can repeat the hue on their packaging so that every discarded box becomes a free billboard. If they are bold they can make a logo physically bigger on the packaging or...gasp...on the product itself.

It can backfire...think back to the Minolta logo when it got all arty in the 1990's and people were hard pressed to figure out what it actually was...and that also meant that they were confused as to who Minolta were*. You can surrender to the blandishments of the design department a little too early.

It can be too conservative - harking back to the design styles of the film eras can be dangerous too. There is a major maker that has several logos in operation right now dealing with different divisions of their overall company that could look at this aspect - some of the brand presentation looks decidedly 1970's. It might be argued that the division of business that they are dealing with also harks back to the 1970's so the buyers of the goods would not be influenced by a modern logo. Perhaps this is the case, but I am glad to see that they have adopted a far more stylish nameplate for their newer cameras and lenses.

But they did not choose a bright colour combination. It will remain to be seen if their presentation can grab the casual shopper's eye.

Well, back to the Leica Boutique. The Murray Street shop walls are now complete and the stock that you see in there will be designed to appeal to the high-end buyer. I noted that the titanium M kit was there this week. Pick one up on the way home from the office...And there are no end of lenses that will be making an appearance.

One particularly attractive bit was on the island display - and you need not spend the annual budget of Brazil to buy it. If you are a Leica shooter treat yourself to an oversize shutter release button in one of a number of styles. They screw into the shutter button as it currently exists and make for smooth and comfortable shooting. I use one on a camera when I am doing waist-level shots at car show. I press it with my thumb and the shots are rock-steady.

* To be fair, a lot of people couldn't stop themselves from calling it " Minololta ".

The Impulse Buy Vs The Considered Negotiation

Here is a little trade secret; sometimes supermarkets put things in their shops in such a way as to obstruct the aisle and slow the customer down. If the barrier is a hanging rack or a cardboard bin the idea is that the shopper will pause long enough to get hungry for whatever they are selling - if there is a big " Bargain " sign in red it frequently triggers off chemicals in the brain that make the person drop it into their shopping trolley.

This is also the logic behind the Leica Boutique. You may have just popped into the shop for a couple of packets of Toshiba AA batteries for your speed light (still the best electricity for your money...) but as you stand there waiting you see the red shelves of the Leica Boutique. If the shop designer has done their job, you to drift over a bit closer...closer... and all of a sudden you are going home with an "M" camera and a Summilux lens. What you are going to say when you get home is your affair - the shop designer has succeeded.

I have observed Leica Boutiques in a number of cities; Singapore, Tokyo, Melbourne, Sydney, and Perth and they have all been impeccably presented - I think this is a business stipulation from the Leica people. They are also very clever in making them so similar - you get a genuine feeling of comfort when you see the classic presentation. You feel confident that the shop can cater to your needs. And you do not have to question the validity of the brand.

You might wonder what made you buy a packet of chocolate-coated spaghetti from Coles, but you never, ever, have to regret Leica.

PS: there is a fine line in the design of commercial sales obstructions. Too little and they sweep right on by - too much and they fall over it and break a leg. The science is evolving.

Camera Electronic's Leica Boutiques are in both stores - 230 Stirling St, Perth and 2/324 Murray St, Perth or you can see the range online at www.leicaboutique-ce.com.au/ 

Oh, Here. Look.

No sense describing an exclusive design product when We have cameras and the internet. here's some fast shots of the new Leica 100-year anniversary camera and the G-Star Raw camera as well as just a few of the colour examples for the binoculars and the X-2 cameras.

There are more in the sample swatches.

Whole Lotta Leica Goin' On

No post from me yesterday because we were busy preparing the shop for and important event - the official opening of our new Leica boutique shop-within-a-shop.

In case that sounds complicated, it really means that we have a dedicated Leica section here at the front of the shop that has been designed and manufactured by Leica to showcase their product. Now we have a lot more of their products here with us right now and can service the needs of the Leica enthusiast and professional with real style.

Style is a lot of it - we saw the new 100th-year anniversary camera introduced here last night and a wonderful range of colour-coordinated Leica cameras and binocular sets. The former has a special logo engraved onto the Leica D-Lux 6 and a silver lens assembly while the latter are yellow, blue, beige, red...you name it and if Leica can catch it and skin it they can likely cover your camera with it.

The other fashion device is the G-Star Raw camera - again derived from the Leica D-Lux 6 body but with an entirely different covering and body colour. It has a very cool bag included as part of the assemblage.

There was German sausage and beer, German sparkling wine, German cider, and a very pretty blonde model for the photographers to test the cameras out on. There were speeches from the Camera Electronic and Leica managers. The new 100-yeqr camera was announced and shown, and the national manager for Leica was able to remind us of some of the most iconic images of the twentieth century that were taken with Leicas.

Side note: If you once thought that Leica was sort of a staid old-guy's toy sold by staid old guys, you can put that thought firmly out of your mind. The company here in Australia and in Germany is running young and thinking young. Big things coming. When they come, they'll come here to our red and black boutique!