I think I'm qualified to comment on this, so I will. There's 2 issues. One is the recent lack of availability not just of the newer lenses, but even the standard XCD lenses. I have no clue about that. But it's real, and whatever the issue is, I hope they get past it. I would also like to mention that I am not aware of who makes the newer gen lenses, but I've been told by someone at Hasselblad that it is not Panasonic. Not that it matters, and they could be wrong, but the Panasonic name has been bandied about as fact - I don't know that it is.
The second issue is more concerning. We've been a Hasselblad dealer and supporter for many, many years, with strong relationship ties that went back decades. And every one of those employees in the USA is gone. Today, Hasselblad substantially prioritizes allocation to their own online web-store and to BH. They also split the remaining dealers into ordering from a distribution center that warehouses DJI in the USA (among other products). However, this distributor rarely ever has stock themselves because the stock is prioritized to Hasselblad’s online store or BH. We invest a tremendous amount of time and energy to produce content for Hasselblad, content that is unique, honest, technical. We make sales for Hasselblad. We're not an order taker, like BH, we're an order maker. We are marketing Hasselblad's products so they can take the sale themselves.
We are not a small volume Hasselblad dealer. When a new product comes out, like the X2D or the recent 907x/CFV 100c, yes we do order 40-50 units at a time. We're large enough to produce a bigger stake in Hasselblad. Last year was a very successful year for Hasselblad sales at CI. And yet, by our calculations, our sales were at least 30% - 40% less than what they should have been if we could simply deliver (any) lenses within a reasonable amount of time. Instead, the reasonable amount of time is restricted to their online store and BH.
In recent years, nearly every manufacturer of photographic products has created an online e-commerce store for direct sales. This isn't new, there's just more of it. And on a certain level, I understand. Many camera stores have gone under and it's hard to count on sales when you're underrepresented in large areas of the country. But there are right ways and wrong ways to do this. Hasselblad does not even list us on their own website as a dealer.
We have reached out to Hasselblad Sweden and were told we have no recourse but to continue and press our only Hasselblad USA contact, who is responsible for all of North America. We have a great relationship with this person, and he understands our value. He’s pushing for change. But it's a bit Wizard of Oz, we have him and that's it, and then there's this big curtain, and we know no one behind it. We hope for change.
Steve Hendrix/CI
