In a press release on its website, Photokina has confirmed that Nikon, Leica and Olympus have all opted out of attention the 2020 trade show. The press release, titled ‘Photokina 2020: An Industry in Transformation, a Decisive Chance for the Future,‘ buries the lede by first elaborating on the current state of the camera market and following it up with the significance of a trade show such as Photokina.
The press release starts out saying:
‘The imaging industry is currently undergoing massive changes, which also have an impact on Photokina as the industry's leading trade fair - and this in a dimension never seen before. While on the one hand the classic camera market reports strongly declining sales and turnover figures, the enjoyment of photography continues to grow - with a positive effect on the demand for pictures. ’
Gerald BKoelnmesse GmbH, goes on to say that Photokina ‘represents a unique opportunity’ and notes that ‘[Photokina is] relying on the major players of the industry to make the greatest possible use of this opportunity. ’
It’s not until two paragraphs later the press release confirms three ‘major players’ won’t be attending the trade show after first expressing gratitude to multiple other manufacturers for attending:
‘of Koelnmesse. These are contrasted by cancellations, including from Leica, Nikon and Olympus. ’
The press release goes on to say these cancellations change nothing for Photokina 2020 and ensures that the show will go on, but losing three major manufacturers in a single year is never a good sign. We saw this happen with PMA years ago and once a few left the expo, the rest quickly followed.
. dpreview.com2019-9-19 20:18