Did any Japanese photo co come close to bankruptcy like Leica did?

[chip j]

I'm curious

 

[Theo Sulphate]

Good question. I'm curious as well.

What seems to happen there that surprises me, are companies being bought or taken over by what I thought were lesser companies, e.g. Ricoh owning Pentax. I have no idea what happened to the old Konica, Yashica, or Miranda. Petri is rightfully gone.

 

[Ian C]

Bronica brand discontinued September 2005.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronica


Yashica

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yashica


Petri

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petri_Camera


Miranda

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miranda_Camera_Company


Topcon, still in business, but not photography

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topcon


Konica-Minolta, in business, but not photography

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konica_Minolta


Nicca, acquired by Yashica in 1958

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicca


The following is a list of Japanese camera companies with links to articles giving a brief history (if known) of each. Many of these have gone out of business or been absorbed by others, in many cases retaining the original name for marketing purposes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Photography_companies_of_Japan


Though not a camera company, Sankyo Koki (sometimes Kohki) made fine lenses branded Komura, Chibanon, Beseler Color Pro (for Beseler enlarger company), and Omicron EL for Berkey Marketing Companies (owner of Omega enlargers for many years), as well as many lenses for Bronica cameras (photo of one such lens is in the following article).

http://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Sankyō_Kōki

 

[Chan Tran]

Good question. I'm curious as well.

What seems to happen there that surprises me, are companies being bought or taken over by what I thought were lesser companies, e.g. Ricoh owning Pentax. I have no idea what happened to the old Konica, Yashica, or Miranda. Petri is rightfully gone.

It seems to me that in general a lesser brand would buy a higher end brand and not the other way around. That happens in all industries not jut photographic industry.

 

[chip j]

Ian, Komura also made the FAB Komuranon S enlarging lens in 50 & 75mm. The brands you list went out of business or were taken over. I meant companies that faced bankruptcy but still then made a go of it.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

Some say Nikon is teetering on that edge right now - they're at greater risk because they are the rare Japanese camera company that is not part of some larger corporation.

 

[jim10219]

Ricoh was actually the larger company, just not the larger camera company. They were (might still be) the largest manufacturer of copiers in the world. And at the time of the sale, Pentax was owned by Hoya.

 

[Oren Grad]

I meant companies that faced bankruptcy but still then made a go of it.

Mamiya went bankrupt in the mid-'80s, restructured, carried on for another 30 years or so, but has recently been entirely absorbed by Phase One and no longer exists as a separate entity nor as the brand on any marketed products, save perhaps for old stock being sold off.

 

[abruzzi]

Bronica brand discontinued September 2005.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronica

Bronica was first bought by Tamron, then eventually discontinued.

And at the time of the sale, Pentax was owned by Hoya.

Supposedly Hoya bought Pentax to get access to their profitable medical imaging division, though I'm not sure where I read that.

 

[Oren Grad]

Supposedly Hoya bought Pentax to get access to their profitable medical imaging division, though I'm not sure where I read that.

Yes, they still own it, after selling the camera business:

https://www.pentaxmedical.com/pentax/en/92/1/PENTAX-Medical-Overview

 

[Ste_S]

Some say Nikon is teetering on that edge right now - they're at greater risk because they are the rare Japanese camera company that is not part of some larger corporation.

I was wondering about how Nikon will fare in the current climate. Squeezed at the bottom to mid end by camera phones, squeezed at the top end by Canon and Sony who have much bigger resources.
I can see them going more niche, increasing prices and trading on their brand history

 

[Dennis-B]

I was wondering about how Nikon will fare in the current climate. Squeezed at the bottom to mid end by camera phones, squeezed at the top end by Canon and Sony who have much bigger resources.
I can see them going more niche, increasing prices and trading on their brand history

Nikon has a great deal of corporate intellectual property, as well as technology and R&D. While they may not survive at some time down the road, it would seem that they may be bought by a larger company to gain access to all that "magic".