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Nikon to Exit the H**Ting caper ..... ? (1 Viewer)

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42za said:
Sad , but not entirely unexpected in this modern world.

:-C

Cheers.
Click to expand...

Given that this is a Birding site it will probably be welcome news to a not insignificant number of people.

Details are scant other than it's related to their 'position in the market' - ie. packed. I posted this because it could be said that Nikon face similar pressures in parts of the binocular market, and their imaging business is also under considerable pressure. I have heard it said that particularly in Europe Nikon faces a degree of backlash there from their customers over the H**T**g connection (let's all get past origins etc and just consider the business realities of now) .....

Nikon has made some top notch glass in several markets and I hope they continue to do so - particularly in the imaging and nature observation arenas which are my interests - I will leave golf rangefinders to the young whippersnappers and erstwhile flexible of body ! :cat:




Chosun :gh:
 
Chosun Juan said:
I have heard it said that particularly in Europe Nikon faces a degree of backlash there from their customers over the H**T**g connection (let's all get past origins etc and just consider the business realities of now) .....
Click to expand...

Are these same people critical of Leica, Zeiss Swaro, Meopta, Pentax, Vortex, Bushnell, Leopold, and so on... for their h**t**g connections?
 
And don't forget Hawke and many others. This is an interesting news item but if a debate about the ethics of hunting is desired then this needs to begin on Ruffled Feathers.

Lee
Moderator
 
Kevin Conville said:
Are these same people critical of Leica, Zeiss Swaro, Meopta, Pentax, Vortex, Bushnell, Leopold, and so on... for their h**t**g connections?
Click to expand...
You'd have to ask those sales reps and companies - I have no mail that I can recall on that, and there is a separate thread that addresses those sorts of issues.

Nikon is under huge financial and market pressure in imaging primarily from cellphones eating into the lower market end of their business. With the [asymptotic] limit being approached in classical binoculars/optics advances, low end optics are becoming somewhat commoditised. I suppose Nikon is just going to stick to the knitting and try and retain enough volume and markets to cover costs and concentrate on moving individual product profitability up ..... :cat:





Chosun :gh:
 
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Apparently this comes into effect as from Jan 1 2020 (source gr8fuldoug post on another site - if he sees this he may have further details by now to add).




Chosun :gh:
 
It is a movable feast. Ahead of the curve users have been replacing their large objective hunting / deer stalking / mammal management / night census surveying binoculars with thermal spotters, for both day and for twilight / night use, for some time now, despite the considerable cost. R&D in and demand for thermal rifle scopes increases likewise.

Eventually demand will enable much lower prices for thermal imaging equipment making these uses for such binoculars virtually redundant. Nikon judged the direction of the wind long ago, this news is not surprising. :smoke:
 
This will not stop many from h....g, so a mute point Chosun. I use other methods.

42za, I could not agree with you more.

SteveTS, I think you are spot on.

Andy W.
 
Kevin Conville said:
Are these same people critical of Leica, Zeiss Swaro, Meopta, Pentax, Vortex, Bushnell, Leopold, and so on... for their h**t**g connections?
Click to expand...


Quite the opposite actually. H***T**G people are fed up with Niko Camera's anti H**T**G stance. That, and Nikon Sport Optics USA's attempt at marketinhg and customer service is a JOKE.
 
I think the connections to anti hu*tg are a stretch. The rifle scope market is jam-packed and Nikon is spread pretty thin. My guess is that rather than try to compete with all the chinese-made trash that is flooding the market these days, they are going to focus on their other, higher-end products that are no doubt more profitable for them.

Why things can't just be a business decision anymore is sad. Everyone wants to tie everything to politics.
 
What is this thread about?

What is this HunTing caper? Something to do with the Huns nomads?

A mute point? A silent point?

Now asymtopic limit, I'm off to check that one, though the spelling isn't liked.
 
justabirdwatcher said:
...... The rifle scope market is jam-packed and Nikon is spread pretty thin. My guess is that rather than try to compete with all the chinese-made trash that is flooding the market these days, they are going to focus on their other, higher-end products that are no doubt more profitable for them. .....
Click to expand...

Which is a +1 :t: paraphrasing of what I said :cat:

This should be good news for lovers of Nikon's Spotting Scopes, Binoculars, Cameras and Lenses, etc ......



Chosun :gh:
 
Though I have at times been critical of Nikon for their confused marketing strategies and product supply...
I'm rooting for Nikon to prevail, as a company, and especially with their sport optics division.

I can't think of another company that has delivered the general quality of their products with the spectrum of price points that Nikon has.
Every Nikon product I've owned has been very good, if not great, in it's respective segment.
 
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justabirdwatcher said:
I think the connections to anti hu*tg are a stretch. The rifle scope market is jam-packed and Nikon is spread pretty thin. My guess is that rather than try to compete with all the chinese-made trash that is flooding the market these days, they are going to focus on their other, higher-end products that are no doubt more profitable for them.

Why things can't just be a business decision anymore is sad. Everyone wants to tie everything to politics.
Click to expand...

I agree, you have explained the situation well. The hunting scope market
is very packed with many similar products in the low to mid-priced range.
I have a couple of Nikon scopes, but right now they are in the gun safe.
I have chosen to mount some others, Zeiss and Kahles.
I know many of you like to know all about that. ;)

Jerry
 
I would have to respectfully disagree. Nikon just dropped their premium line of binoculars, the EDG, to concentrate on more mid-level stuff. They do have their own Chinese stuff too, as you both know. I believe they will exit the sport optics market completely before it's over, as Nikon Camera is very anti hunting.
 
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The only thing Nikon has sold for hunting was rifle scopes, and laser rangefinding binoculars.

Nikon makes rangefinders for golfers, and spotting scopes are used by birders. So your point is made on the
riflescope, but not on sports optics, that is a large part of their consumer optics sales, and complements with
cameras.

Jerry
 
Nikon don’t just do optics, they have other industrial products, so additional consolidation could happen if they really are in trouble.
As with many things, there are limits to how much more-better things can get and they only make money when people buy new stuff... even though the existing stuff works OK. Any reduction in the market options is sad, one likes to dream that we might one day see a lower cost WX.

Peter
 
NDhunter said:
The only thing Nikon has sold for hunting was rifle scopes, and laser rangefinding binoculars.

Nikon makes rangefinders for golfers, and spotting scopes are used by birders. So your point is made on the
riflescope, but not on sports optics, that is a large part of their consumer optics sales, and complements with
cameras.

Jerry
Click to expand...

Not sure how big sports optics are for Nikon, but iirc, there had been a comment some years back here on BF from a visitor to the Nikon sports optics office in Japan.
He said he was surprised at how modest it was, clearly not that high in the pecking order.
As has been posted elsewhere, Nikon is part of the Mitsubishi family of companies, so they have significant backing, but they are hurting and shrinkage seems inevitable.
 
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