New Pentax Distributor from Oct: APD

[fengwei]

Hi guys and gals,

Just got the news from a few friends that ADP (Audio and Photo Distributor) Pte Ltd will take over the distributorship for Pentax from Oct 2012.

It's sad to see Emjay leaving Pentax, we all can see that they've put in a lot effort in expending Pentax market in SG and even to oversea. It was never so easy to get a Pentax stuff before Emjay took over. And the Pentax user base was so much smaller. Still remember those days I had to look everywhere to get an FA31 and FA77, or even an original Pentax remote. Now we can pretty much find all current Pentax products in one of those shops. And there are a lot more friends showing up during our monthly outings. Emjay also helped to bring in he latest Pentax stuff as soon as they came to market, at great launch prices too.

Other than a bit lagging in customer service, I'd say Emjay has been doing a great job for Pentax and us local Pentaxians.

ADP has bee a long time Ricoh distributor here locally, I can't say they've been doing a fanstastic job for Ricoh, but I hope they'd do a much better job for Pentax, especially in customer service. And hope we still can get Pentax stuff locally at very reasonable prices.

Let's look forward to an even better future for Pentax here in SG and beyond.

 

[edutilos-]

Yes, I hope that the customer service will improve. Distribution is not so much of a concern to me, actually... But I agree that Emjay had done a good job in that aspect.

Wonder what ADP's customer service is like - I did a quick search but don't see anyone talking about it in CS? Maybe Bernard can share if he has experience. :bsmilie:

 

[felixcat8888]

I agree that Emjay has been doing great for Pentax and also sad to see them lose the ditributorship to APD.

Hopefully, APD can continue what Emjay did for the local Pentax community too. I remember those times too when I wanted to get Pentax products locally but in the end had to turn to sources in Hong Kong to get stuff.

I hope we can see more new Pentaxians under APD!! Hoping that APD will bring in the Sigma lenses in K mount too, Like the 85mm F1.4 so that Pentaxians who are interested will not need to source beyond our shores.

 

[oceanpriest]

Sigma is also under APD

https://www.facebook.com/SigmaSingapore#!/SigmaSingapore

 

[Yamakasi]

i remember that Emjay posted that the new service center will be moved to a new place on 15 sep..so now where do we send our lens if we need to service it?

also..my 2 lenses are still in holiday in Japan..not sure when they will come back and when they come back..i also dunno where to collect them..hope that they can come back before 1 Oct then

 

[philip113]

I think the New agent will up the price for Pentax Camera here , I don't see a need for change of dealership unless current ones sell low

 

[felixcat8888]

i remember that Emjay posted that the new service center will be moved to a new place on 15 sep..so now where do we send our lens if we need to service it?

also..my 2 lenses are still in holiday in Japan..not sure when they will come back and when they come back..i also dunno where to collect them..hope that they can come back before 1 Oct then

If they are there, and it was Emjay who sent them, I believe you collect it from Emjay. Better check with Emjay to confirm.

 

[mrekoj]

any impact to the pentaxwebstore?

 

[MichaelLee]

FYI - APD is also the distributor for Ricoh.

 

[Yamakasi]

If they are there, and it was Emjay who sent them, I believe you collect it from Emjay. Better check with Emjay to confirm.

just call Emjay..seems like my lenses will come back next week..hopefully i can collect them from Emjay office at Peninsular since its nearer to my office

 

[Supersimon27]

Really sad to hear that . Emjay had been serving is really well sia .

Maybe it's time for the ricoh and pentax to join as one .
Maybe our forum group should join also ? We belong to a same family now afterall

Fengwei , possible to suggest to include Ricoh folk into here ?

 

[Ahren]

I feel somewhat sad to see the change, I join the Pentax family in 2009. I have seen greater improvement and engagement from Emjay to the local Pentax community year on year. Thus hopefully that will continue with APD. It could be a decision from the top resulting from this M&A from Ricoh.

Previously, I used to see this big disparity between the Sigma prices here and overseas. I am not sure what is the situation now. Hope that it will not follow on with Pentax here..

 

[fengwei]

Fengwei , possible to suggest to include Ricoh folk into here ?

There is no dedicated Ricoh forum here at clubsnap, I don't see any reason to leave ricoh folks out of the big family

 

[fengwei]

I think the New agent will up the price for Pentax Camera here , I don't see a need for change of dealership unless current ones sell low

Let's not make assumptions so early. Better just wait after the handover and see how it goes.

As why Pentax change distributorship, most likely is because APD has a very long history w Ricoh, and Pentax Ricoh can't have two distributors in such a small market.

But I agree w you guys, most likely Pentax prices will go up. Better just grab the stuff you wanna buy now

 

[fengwei]

any impact to the pentaxwebstore?

It's more or less closed for now 'cause there isn't much stock left I think.

 

[felixcat8888]

It's more or less closed for now 'cause there isn't much stock left I think.

Can call them. I was told there are some left, including the colours . . .

 

[edutilos-]

Let's not make assumptions so early. Better just wait after the handover and see how it goes.

As why Pentax change distributorship, most likely is because APD has a very long history w Ricoh, and Pentax Ricoh can't have two distributors in such a small market.

But I agree w you guys, most likely Pentax prices will go up. Better just grab the stuff you wanna buy now

I have nothing to buy

 

[pinholecam]

New opportunities as well as possible dark times ahead.....
We shall know soon enough as the new distro launches the new products and we get to know of the prices of existing stuff.


While I can't say that I like Emjay in their efforts to market Pentax here, they were overall effective in building up the brand in a small kind of way.
The community here has grown, but I'd certainly give most of the credit to Fengwei and the other oldies for making this happen.
We got quite a few benefits from Emjay too.
Access to first glimpses of coming products via Fengwei; being first or some of the earliest to receive new products; competitive pricing vs the rest of the world.
Even some freebies like T-shirts, remotes and Kr battery holders.
So my :thumbsup: to Ronald and Emjay for their efforts over the past 3-4yrs.
Thanks for engaging the community here, building up the brand, good pricing and making it available in the shops.



I can't say I'm a fan of Sigma pricing in Sgp (really the pits imo; easily $150-$200 more than HK and US)
Anyone can comment on the pricing of Ricoh stuff?
Then again, my experience with Sigma service center has been pretty good.
Perhaps the combined Ricoh/Pentax budget will allow them to do more.
Leveraged with the ability to get in more Sigma lenses for K-mount, it could be a good synergy.
Will they bother to engage us?
Many things we will find out soon enough.


Its not all doom and gloom of course.
This only change is the BBB, money spending aspect of things in Sgp anyway (ie. the unhealthy part ).
We usually don't buy that much stuff each year anyway. (maybe a camera; 1-3 lenses at the very most; often some are in bns rather then new)
With the internet, everything can be sourced overseas if the terms here are unfavorable (after factoring warranty; shipping; tax; etc of course)
The gear that we already have and the photography that we do is unchanged.
IMO, just keep shooting and let the other stuff sort itself out.


Btw,
Fengwei, any chance that we can combine with the Ricoh users in this forum?
Strength in numbers... I suppose.... (and imo the Ricoh users in CS display some of the most consistently good photos on this forum)

 

[edutilos-]

New opportunities as well as possible dark times ahead.....
We shall know soon enough as the new distro launches the new products and we get to know of the prices of existing stuff.

Have there been previous cases where distro change and then all the prices just fly up? That would be quite difficult to justify.

 

[pinholecam]

Have there been previous cases where distro change and then all the prices just fly up? That would be quite difficult to justify.

Dunno...
Its too early to know anything, best not for me to speculate.

I do think Ricoh will have a RRP, so prices would not fluctuate too much and street prices will always be lower.