Leica Camera AG has announced that Farah Ahmed Perez has been appointed as the new managing director of Leica UK Camera UK.
Beginning her career in media sales in the international television and telecoms B2B publishing industry, Farah moved into Luxury retail initially with Harrods’ Fashion, later becoming General Merchandise Manager for the Home, Technology and Beauty concessions division. Prior to joining Leica, she was Managing Director of Hermès Parfums UK.
A cup of coffee works wonders in supporting Macfilos
Did you know that Macfilos is run by a dedicated team of volunteers? We rely on donations to help pay our running costs. And even the cost of a cup of coffee will do wonders for our energy levels.
As a few Macfilos readers already know, I shall be having a meeting with Farah in mid-June. It is fair to report that my e-contacts with her concerning the Leica Society and our hope that the long-term excellent relationship we have enjoyed with Leica UK will be continued under her watch, has met with a positive response and also interest in the Society and its history. I am optimistic about this….and will report back after our meeting. Tony Cole, Chairman, The Leica Society.
I hope to meet Farah later this year and I wish her every success in her new position. Leica has a store in Harrods and had links in the past with Hermes. The job of MD in the UK is largely one of marketing and distribution, not including product design and manufacture, but I am sure that Farah will have plenty of opportunity to demonstrate her expertise. In the US, Leica USA gives massive support to Leica users and societies and has opened new repair facilities in New Jersey. I am always reminding LSI colleagues in the US of how spoilt they are. The US (and North America ) is a much larger market than anything in Europe, where the Leica set up is divided up among much smaller markets. As an example of this there is one Leica Akademie for North America, whereas there are nine Leica Akademies in Europe. Language is a key element in all of this, of course.
William
Leica has been a luxury lifestyle brand since a while. Not sure why people still get upset about that. Companies like Leica (and Hasselblad) can feauture-wise not compete with the Japanese companies so the rely on their heritage, put more effort in a refined, polished minimalist industrial design and the segment they market themselves in. Plus the user experience. About the longevity, that is truly only valid for film bodies and M-lenses. All the rest is unfortunately very much a part of our current throwaway culture.
I don’t see any problem with male jewellery. My wife often comments on the jewel like quality of my m lenses, but that didn’t stop me wearing one in a pig pen last week. Take a look at any photo of Larry Burrows, more jewellery round his neck than a mogul prince. If Ms Perez wants to launch a Leica lens jewellery box, I might well be interested.
So what’s happened to Jason Heward, I quite liked him.
Jason left in the middle of last year. I too was sorry to see him leave. The search has been on since then.
Sorry to learn that Jason Heward has moved on. He is an excellent communicator and first rate Leica ambassador. And his welcomes for The Leica Society members at Duke Street were reciprocated when he attended TLS AGM Weekends – always happy to speak, answer or our questions and view our exhibition images. Let’s hope Jason’s ‘shop floor’ precedent continues to the advantage of all Leica enthusiasts.
Perhaps he was bored.
Let’s give her a break. Maybe she will repackage the Leica cameras in the “brilliant” move that Hasselblad did with the Sony cameras years ago.🙂
Now remember her name is in the article-some people do not appreciate getting too personal as apparently it is Leica, as a corporation, that makes decisions and not people anymore unlike when I was an executive.
Brian , you are right. In a subsidiary sales company such as Leica UK the role of managing director is very limited and the title is now almost meaningless. In today’s highly connected world the head office runs the systems, controls the marketing and does the accounting online. I wish the lady all the best and I hope that she finds enough to do every day.
Agreed, very much a “luxury fashion” background. Whilst Leica might be considered luxury from a price point, it is still very much a “tool”, albeit expensive one. But with expense, particularly the film bodies, comes longevity.
Rolex were considered “tools” but now very much seem to have moved to the “luxury jewellery” capable of being used as a tool. Leica are close to this and let’s hope they don’t move any closer.
I think your point is well-made. Leitz also makes precision optical instruments for scientists and engineers, but i’ve never heard my scientist colleagues refer to them as luxury items.
I recently bought an f1.4 lens (Nikon 50mm Ai-s) and am experiencing the pain of focusing properly. I use is on both my Leica M240 EVF and Fuji X-E3. The latter has been dealing with EVF cameras for longer; the M240 is Leica’s first, but even wth the ‘cheapie’ Olympus EVF has better ergonomics and is much easier to focus accurately.
It’s either sad, or a symptom of the times, that and item that is well-designed, well-built and built to last is considered a ‘luxury’ item.
Kathy, the optical instruments and surveying/geosystems are not now made and distributed by the Leica Camera company. They come from a now totally separate company which was separated from the parent company years ago.
I cannot agree that Leica cameras/lenses are referred to as luxury items because they are well made and well designed. They have that moniker because of the pricing-they are so expensive that they are surely luxuries.
The same rationale explains why Mercedes, BMW, and Audi cars are referred to as luxury cars.
John,
I’m afraid I may have confused matters rather than elucidated them!
First, I tried to differentiate scientific/engineering products from cameras by referring to the former as coming from Leitz rather than Leica. I failed to check my facts!
Second, I used a definition of ‘luxury’ that is not the common one; I meant it to refer to items that were unnecessarily expensive. A bit of background: my father was a foreman on an assembly line for an (American) firm that produced products meant to last over thirty years. The products? Rotary telephones, cables, switching circuits …. telephones that anyone could own, communication systems that worked as intended. And they functioned for decades.Growing up, things that worked as they should didn’t seem a luxury.
Part of my post was a lament: when my house was hit by lightning and caught on fire, I learned the difference between particle board and wood. Kitchen cabinets, windowsills, built in shelving — all wood, and insurance paid for refinishing, but replacement was not necessary. Particle board furniture absorbs water and smoke, and all had to be replaced. We chose real wood as the replacement; had to pay extra.
A luxury?
Thoughts …
Kathy
Sorry Kathy, you’ve totally lost me. I’ll try Google Translate.
Good luck to her, but I hope that, given her background, Leica, which is a top-of-the-market make of camera, which does a particular job and has its own pros and cons, doesn’t start to be regarded in the same light as some of the product areas she has previously been involved with.
I recall a TV programme, many years ago, with the late, great Terence Donovan, in which he sneered at some camera, calling it “Male Jewellery”. That thought was with me long before TD expressed it, and has remained ever since.
I rather suspect most Leica products are already very much male jewelry