"The Olympus brand will be maintained for the time being" says JIP

"The Olympus brand will be maintained for the time being" says JIP
(Image credit: Olympus / JIP)

Despite its sale to an investment firm, the Olympus brand "will be maintained for the time being" and there are no plans to outsource manufacturing or pull out of any markets. However, key R&D staff may not be transferred over, and the company may move into consumer products like surveillance cameras.

Those are the key takeaways from an interview with Shinichi Inagaki, managing director of Japan Industrial Products (JIP) – the firm that is purchasing Olympus' imaging division. 

• Read more: Best Olympus cameras

In the first interview since the announcement of the acquisition – which will be completed by end of the year, with the contract by the end of September, though the final price has not yet been decided – Inagaki assuaged fears that popular cameras like the Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III would lose the brand name after the sale, and only be called 'OM-D E-M5 Mark III'. 

"The Olympus brand will be maintained for the time being, and the maintenance of sold products will be continued," it was confirmed to Toyokeizai Online (hat tip to Digital Camera Info). 

JIP's success in carving out Sony's Vaio brand into a profitable standalone company was cited, due to key similarities such as being a smaller division within a larger corporation whose key interests lay elsewhere (in the case of Olympus, its core medical division was the focus, which is why profitability was not sustained with the imaging business). 

However, while that experience will be drawn upon, Inagaki confirmed that some steps taken to make Vaio profitable – namely the outsourcing of manufacturing and withdrawing from key markets like Europe – will not be the case with Olympus.

"Unlike VAIO, there is no idea of withdrawing from the overseas market, and we will continue to sell overseas in Europe, which is our main market," said Inagaki.  "We are still discussing production systems such as factories, but we have no plans to make it fabless, such as leaving the main factory in Vietnam."

Olympus' core Micro Four Thirds line will continue, but other consumer camera markets are being considered

Olympus' core Micro Four Thirds line will continue, but other consumer camera markets are being considered (Image credit: Olympus)

Surveillance cameras, R&D, and profit within 1 year

Inagaki noted the lack of wider vision at Olympus, which inhibited the corporation from fully leveraging and expanding its camera business. 

"By carefully examining the features of the camera business that were not visible inside Olympus and finding out in which market the features will live… [we will] make a scale and system that fits that market, and take on challenges lightly. I feel empirically that if we can do it, we will experience strengths in the shrinking digital camera market.”

Crucially, Inagaki stated the importance of taking Olympus' core technology into broader areas. So, while "the Micro Four Thirds market will be evaluated at a certain scale both in Japan and abroad", going forward it will also "be essential to find promising new markets" and move beyond its existing camera offerings. 

"From a medium- to long-term perspective, we are also considering various markets such as consumer products specialized for video and business such as surveillance cameras. It is said that it is necessary to find the optimal market by repeating challenges beyond the current Olympus camera lineup."

However, acquiring the research and development staff to achieve this may not be as straightforward as initially planned. There is currently concern as to how much of Olympus Imaging's human resource will be part of the JIP transaction – and in particular, the key personnel and R&D teams that Olympus has been siphoning away from imaging to its core medical division. 

"The problem with curve-out from a large company is that R&D personnel do not follow the carve-out destination," said Inagaki. "It is in negotiations."

Ultimately, though, JIP is in this for the long haul. The firm believes that, rather than just closing factories and culling staff in order to cut costs, the goal is to achieve sustainable profit – and Inagaki believes that profit is possible in the first year of acquisition. "After that, instead of selling it to external companies, we will search for a way to [achieve] revival under JIP."

It's an intriguing time for the storied camera brand. No doubt more concrete future plans will be announced after the sale is signed off at the end of the month. 

Read more: 

The best Olympus camera: for Instagrammers, enthusiasts and pros
The best Micro Four Thirds lenses: lenses for Olympus and Panasonic
Olympus sells camera division

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

James Artaius
Editor

The editor of Digital Camera World, James has 21 years experience as a journalist and started working in the photographic industry in 2014 (as an assistant to Damian McGillicuddy, who succeeded David Bailey as Principal Photographer for Olympus). In this time he shot for clients like Aston Martin Racing, Elinchrom and L'Oréal, in addition to shooting campaigns and product testing for Olympus, and providing training for professionals. This has led him to being a go-to expert for camera and lens reviews, photo and lighting tutorials, as well as industry news, rumors and analysis for publications like Digital Camera MagazinePhotoPlus: The Canon MagazineN-Photo: The Nikon MagazineDigital Photographer and Professional Imagemaker, as well as hosting workshops and talks at The Photography Show. He also serves as a judge for the Red Bull Illume Photo Contest. An Olympus and Canon shooter, he has a wealth of knowledge on cameras of all makes – and a fondness for vintage lenses and instant cameras.