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How the Leica Family Defied Digital Disruption to Keep the Camera Business in the Family
Season 2
Episode 65
Published 2 weeks, 6 days ago
Description
In this episode of Family Business Stories with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna explore how the Leica Camera family — the Leitz family — navigated the digital photography revolution when every competitor was abandoning film. They dive into the 2004 crisis when Leica was hours from bankruptcy, how the family ceded control to a non-family CEO but kept ownership, and the 2012 decision to double down on the M-series rangefinder while Canon and Nikon went mirrorless. With specific numbers: Leica's market share in 2000 versus today, the 2005 rescue loan from the state of Hesse, and how a 160-year-old optics company now sells $8,000 cameras to millennials. A masterclass in knowing what your brand actually means — and what it doesn't.