On June 24, 2020, Olympus announced the carveout of the imaging business to Japan Industrial Partners, Inc. (JIP), revealing that it is aiming to finalize the agreement later this year. Since the announcement, the photography community has been curious to learn additional news about the camera giant’s future.
In the release, Olympus noted that “NewCo [the new company, which will be managed by JIP] will succeed and maintain the research and development functions and manufacturing functions globally as reformed under the contemplated structuring reforms to continue to offer high-quality, highly reliable products; and also continue to provide support to the imaging solution products that have been distributed by Olympus.”
To get more information about the news, and to answer questions from the community, we reached out to Aki Murata, President, Consumer Products Group, Olympus Corporation of the Americas.
Read below for more details the Olympus Imaging spinoff, and what it means for photographers:
Can you give additional insight into the decision to sell the camera division (as opposed to growing it), and can you detail the transition plans in the coming months?
On June 24, Olympus signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Japan Industrial Partners, Inc. (JIP). According to the MOU, both companies are committed to further discussions about the transfer of Olympus’ long-standing Imaging business to JIP by the end of 2020.
The MOU with JIP is reflective of our intention to revitalize our Imaging business. The catalyst to this decision has been a third year of consecutive financial losses amid a declining Imaging market. Last year, Olympus announced a transformation goal of becoming a sustainable leading global medtech company, a goal to which our consumer Imaging business cannot contribute. As a result, a significant portion of Olympus’ investment resources will be focused on other areas outside of Imaging. Therefore, it became appropriate for us to identify a partner who can focus solely on our consumer Imaging business.
As a next step, Olympus and JIP are working towards the signing of a DA (definitive agreement) by the end of September, after due diligence. The actual transfer would be executed at the end of December.
Can you speak to what this means for photographers who have invested in the OM-D system should they need repairs? Will warranties be honored? What support is/will be available to existing camera owners?
The transfer is not expected to affect Olympus’ service offerings. Olympus’ Authorized Repair Centers will continue business as usual. Services such as repairs and warranty claims will be honored for Olympus-branded products both during and after the transfer.
Customers can schedule service and/or repairs by visiting: learnandsupport.getolympus.com/repair. Customers currently making purchase decisions should feel confident that their Olympus products will continue to be supported in the future.
Is in-development gear still due to come out? Can you speak to the R&D process for future advancements? Is it continuing?
Yes. To demonstrate our continued commitment to our customers and product lines, we made several announcements last week. These included the availability of newly-developed complimentary software enabling many OM-D users to utilize their Olympus cameras as a webcam for video streaming. Named OM-D Webcam Beta (support.olympus-imaging.com/webcambeta), the new software is compatible with the E-M1X, E-M1, E-M1 Mark II, E-M1 Mark III, and E-M5 Mark II cameras. We also announced development updates addressing the future of M.Zuiko lens products and firmware associated with our OM-D camera products (getolympus.com/development). Again, we are working to revitalize the business under new leadership. Our R&D team will remain and will continue to develop high-quality camera systems and audio products.
What is the plan for the product line under new leadership? Will the name Olympus be kept?
With our Micro Four Thirds (MFT) Standard mirrorless interchangeable lens systems, our product lineup offers unique benefits that other camera manufacturers do not have the ability to offer. We will continue to pursue these benefits and develop compact lightweight MFT system products that are aligned with the needs of photographers of genres in which our unique features shine, such as Wildlife, Bird, Field Marco, and Adventure Landscape photography. (In fact, just last week we announced the development of a future firmware update to support birding photographers with the addition of Bird Detection to the E-M1X camera’s Intelligent Subject Detection AF, scheduled for release this winter.)
The Olympus name will remain at the time of transfer. The name will likely not be used forever, but this decision will be made in the final agreement between Olympus and JIP.
In terms of new customers, why should they switch now, given the current uncertainty?
We believe this transfer will be the best step to preserving the Olympus brand legacy, our technologies, and our outstanding products. Olympus views this transfer as an opportunity to enable its Imaging business to continue providing value to both new and experienced photographers.
Further, the context of this transfer demonstrates our commitments to product continuity and to our photographer communities; we have disclosed our future roadmap outlining future products to confirm this position. We will continue to advance our goal of leading in the Outdoor Niche photography category by focusing on the previously mentioned photography fields. Our future product development, strategies, and organization will be based on these priorities, and we are excited for what the new organization and our communities will create together.