Canon and Nikon confirm UK price rises

cyclone said:
I was helping my mate source a D60 for his Dad's birthday. One guy in a shop said Nikon stock is scarce as it comes from Nikon Europe and due to the weakness of the £ that Nikon Europe will not sell to Nikon UK at the quoted prices.
Not sure if he was fobbing us off, but it does fit with your experience as well as ours.
We got the prezzie in the end, but we did some miles!
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This is probably true, the £ is so weak just now, it's probably only a few days before the £ reaches parity with the Euro. And in terms of investment, countries and companies themselves are increasingly avoiding investing in the £.
 
Gah... does this mean those of us looking to get new gear must grab it before the 12th? Was hoping I could leave it a bit later but if it means saving a fair chunk of cash... :|
 
Diego Garcia said:
The clever thing is that the 'big guns' will have bought pallet loads of the stuff at old price and apply new pricing tomorrow......
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What you've described is market rigging and is highly illegal. And without blatant collusion between the retailers it doesn't work like that at all.

Say several retailers have both bought loads of stock at the old prices and independently reckon they can increase prices by (say) 20% and make a killing. Then Retailer A realises that if they only increase by 18% they'll still make big profits but undercut the others. Then Retailer B sees what A has done and cuts its prices to only 15% above the old price. Then Retailer C wakes up and cuts its prices to 12% above the old price..... Get the idea?
 
And to think i was waiting til after xmas to get my 450d! Its not dropped a penny in price! Good job i bought before xmas! Been waiting for the 50mm 1.8 to come down too as it's hit £67. no chance of that now! Was like £50 in the summer!
 
The only positive I can see is that if you have kit to sell on, the second hand demand is likely to rise and therefore prices too I would think.
 
StewartR said:
What you've described is market rigging and is highly illegal. And without blatant collusion between the retailers it doesn't work like that at all.

Say several retailers have both bought loads of stock at the old prices and independently reckon they can increase prices by (say) 20% and make a killing. Then Retailer A realises that if they only increase by 18% they'll still make big profits but undercut the others. Then Retailer B sees what A has done and cuts its prices to only 15% above the old price. Then Retailer C wakes up and cuts its prices to 12% above the old price..... Get the idea?
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Yeah, but we know that, but do others?
 
I'm glad now that I got my 100-400L at the beginning of November, then I was cursing that I hadn't bought 3 weeks earlier as I paid £80 more.

When the £ recovers, will the prices come back down? Probably but not as much as they went up especially if sales are still being made. Will continue the age old situation of gear in the UK being more expensive compared to elsewhere.

Won't be buying the 580ex now, will look for something else.
 
Will continue the age old situation of gear in the UK being more expensive compared to elsewhere.
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My experience has been that the UK is cheaper than most places (except maybe the US) largely due to the high level of competition. The margins are usually pretty tight
 
Ted said:
My experience has been that the UK is cheaper than most places (except maybe the US) largely due to the high level of competition. The margins are usually pretty tight
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It certainly is if you're shopping from outside of it ;)!

I live in Germany, where the Nikon D700, for instance, costs €2,200 just about everywhere that you look - that's about £2,000 at the moment. I bought mine last week, from a dealer in London, for £1,500 - a pretty damn good saving!

Still, we are supposed to be undergoing a "global financial crisis", so it would be a bit odd if nobody in the retail chain suffered as a result :thinking:.

The UK is cheap, for some, it's just a currency thing.
 
The 1D3 is now at £4000 (up a staggering £950). The 50D is up £50, likewise the 40D.

The 14/2.8L II is now £2400, the 85/1.2L II now £2240 and the 200/2.0IS a simply mind-boggling £6230!!!!!!!
Even the 135/2.0L is £1150 and the 50/1.2L, £1320.
 
For the sake of clarity - these are obviously RRP's and have yet to take effect. Obviously no-one pays RRP, but they'll increase wholesale prices and with margins tight anyway will clearly impact on street prices.
 
If that is the case, those companies raising their prices, then their sales will drop because people won't be able to afford them. Its a case of sheer greed again. Nothing to stop people buying from the USA etc and avoid the increase.
Realspeed
 
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realspeed said:
If that is the case, those companies raising their prices, then their sales will drop because people won't be able to afford them. Its a case of sheer greed again. Nothing to stop people buying from the USA etc and avoid the increase.
Realspeed
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If you acquaint yourself with the historic exchange rate movements for the least twelve months between the pound and the yen and also the dollar and the yen, I doubt you would put the blame for the rises on greed. It is all about international trade and currency fluctuations.

Look at what the pound was worth against the yen and the dollar a year ago, and look at the rates today. You will find a massive collpase in the value of the pound against both currencies. A year ago the pound was worth 230 Yen. Today it is worth 140 Yen. The pound has fallen in value by ~40% in a year. For anything sourced in Japan, including cameras, our pound does not buy as much today as it did a year ago and we need to spend more of them just to have the same purchasing power.

Suppose there was a camera manufactured and sold in Japan for 230,000 yen a year ago. That would have cost you 230,000 / 230 = £1,000 to buy back then (ignoring taxes/shipping etc..). Even if the price in Japan remained unchanged today, you would now have to pay 230,000 / 140 = £1642 just so your poor Japanese trade partner could still get his 230,000 Yen to spend at home.

It's a similar tale with the pound:dollar, although less severe. A year ago each pound bought you $2. Today £1 will only buy you $1.5 - a drop in value of 25%.

e.g. take something costing $2,000 a year ago and still $2,000 today. Well with the £ worth $2 a year ago it would cost you 2,000/2 = £1,000. Today, with the £ worth $1.5 that $2,000 item would cost you 2,000/1.5 = £1,333 (an increase of 33%) and although you'd be paying more, the poor bloke in the US would not be receiving a single cent more for his product.

Don't blame Canon for the rises. Blame the UK government for your pound slumping in value. We should be grateful if prices only rise by 20%, because our currency has fallen by a lot more than that in the past year. The bargains to be had from Hong Kong and the US just six months ago simply do not exist today. Maybe in a week or two they will look better value, but everything (from the US or far east) will still be costing a lot more than six months ago.
 
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I don't think the decision to raise prices due to the economic climate is just an excuse and there were probably a lot of long meetings because of the negative effect it could have.

Granted, increasing the prices would initially seem like a great counter to a declining exchange rate, however, increasing the prices will naturally slow down sales, initially at the least. A prime reason for the exchange falling is because of the economic climate and people have either less money or are spending less - therefore increasing prices could have an even greater negative effect on their profit because the consumer funds simply aren't there or aren't being spent at the present time.

Although the ultimate parent company may be in Japan, the sub-divisions incorporated in the UK can retain their profits until the pound is stronger and then transfer back to the ultimate parent company at a better rate so a declining exchange rate may in fact be used simply as an excuse...

However, given that Annual Financial Statements must be produced each year (although not sure about Japanese Business Law) and for larger corporations they will most likely have to produce quarterly statements for their shareholders, I don't think the UK incorporated divisions would have the luxury of holding onto profits for an extended duration as the parent company in Japan would obviously suffer when they have to produce their financial statements showing reduced profits because of FX rate deficiencies...

However, provisions could be made for this and accruals made, which I'm sure shareholders would be more than aware of the fact that Britain will no doubt become strong again and therefore as it's typically the shareholders who need convincing then all should be ok.

This is perhaps just a few basic elements in what is probably a rather complex financial equation but I'm guessing there's probably a pretty straightforward method to deciding whether or not it's our current climate which is the reason behind the price changes...

If the prices are increased in the UK but the prices for Japanese retailers (where there's no FX element) aren't increased then I'd assume that it's our current climate that is causing the rise in prices.

If the prices are increased in the UK and in Japan then it's a load of old cobblers as the price increase in the UK should accomodate any predicted loss in profit and therefore a price rise in Japan shouldn't be required. But then they may be expected less sales due to the price rise and therefore raising prices in Japan to counter this...ah, round and round we go...where we stop we never know! lol :)

The worst part as mentioned is the 2nd Hand prices will increase because people will start comparing their prices with current new prices - which will have increased grrrrr
 
JMPhotographic said:
Is there a date set for Canon UK price rises? I want a 5D MKII and I'm gonna have to buy it now if it's going to go up by that much! (also this would be a great excuse to buy it now :p)
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The new prices are already up on www.canon.co.uk. The SRP for the 5D2 has increased from £2300 to £2450, which is quite a small increase, all things considered. There is a lot of inventory from Canon, Nikon, and no doubt other suppliers that seems spookily to be out of stock at the moment. I ordered my 5D2 and three lenses all before Xmas and I am still awaiting stock on all of them.

It's a fair bet that when new stocks are released by Canon UK the wholesale price will have increased. Maybe some dealers will be able to absorb (some of) the increase, especially those already charging around the old SRP, while those who have cut margins already, like Dabs, to sell at around the £1800 mark, will probably be forced to raise prices.

My personal opinion is that if you want the camera now/soon you should order/buy as soon as possible. Time may prove that to be poor advice, but who amongst us really knows?
 
I'm just back from Calumet in Manchester and I do have a good working relationship with the staff there. They confirmed the price rises and commented that they have been told to brace themselves as they could be 20%!

Both Canon and Nikon have been forcing them to run their stocks low by not supplying them with fresh stock so there is no way they can buffer themselves against the rises. This has been common accross the industry.

I was expecting this after a briefing I was in from our MD of the company I left last year. He told our customers last year that there was a 29% increase in the transfer price from Japan to the UK and though he has held off on passing that on until now he has some serious thinking to do in Jan. This was prediced three months ago.

So if they do rise by 15-20% that's not all the difference that is being handed down. that means it's scary time because there is still the difference between the 15-20% and the 29% that is the reality of the current financial situation. Now the only way to make up the difference is in increased sales but how do they do that when the prices are going up so steeply?

I've just ordered an 85mm f1.8 and though it's not the most expensive lens in the world the difference is still better in my pocket.

Calumet will honour prices (at least they did for me but I am an existing trade customer) so I'd give it a go if you are going to be in the market for anything expensive, go get it now!
 
This is grim news. I was wondering what the best chance was of a cheap pre-hike D90 body anyone knew of?

Cheers.
 
Perhaps this would be a good time to remind people to keep a close eye on their gear when out as I'm sure theft of camera gear (and general theft) will increase as times get hard.
 
PsiFox said:
Glad I got my 70-200 just before christmas:)
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Same here, so mine is shortly going to look really cheap as I also used an Ebay 20% off voucher to buy the 70 -200 F4 IS.
 
Lets wait and see how many photography outlets fold this year in the UK....this could be disasterous for retailers who only have thier own mark up to play around with.

one minute the manufacturers are giving us cashback offers and next they are teaming up to collectively nail our hats on.

I wonder if Nikon is raising its prices for microscopes, telescopes, binos and stuff.
 
AliB said:
Both Canon and Nikon have been forcing them to run their stocks low by not supplying them with fresh stock so there is no way they can buffer themselves against the rises. This has been common accross the industry.
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I personally find that kind of behaviour disgusting and pretty much bullying. Surely they must realise that by not allowing the stores to do this they could end up putting them out of business and therefore subsequently effecting future sales of their own product!
 
All the Nikon 300mm F4 AF-S lenses on Camera Price Buster have gone up £100 today.

Hope Jacobs honour my order for one @£770 yesterday(backorder) as they have taken the money for it ????.

What do you reckon guys.

EDIT

Doh!!!!!!!!!!
Forget it guys, I was looking at the Canon 300mm F4 prices.
 
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gman said:
I don't think the decision to raise prices due to the economic climate is just an excuse and there were probably a lot of long meetings because of the negative effect it could have.

Granted, increasing the prices would initially seem like a great counter to a declining exchange rate, however, increasing the prices will naturally slow down sales, initially at the least. A prime reason for the exchange falling is because of the economic climate and people have either less money or are spending less - therefore increasing prices could have an even greater negative effect on their profit because the consumer funds simply aren't there or aren't being spent at the present time.

Although the ultimate parent company may be in Japan, the sub-divisions incorporated in the UK can retain their profits until the pound is stronger and then transfer back to the ultimate parent company at a better rate so a declining exchange rate may in fact be used simply as an excuse...

However, given that Annual Financial Statements must be produced each year (although not sure about Japanese Business Law) and for larger corporations they will most likely have to produce quarterly statements for their shareholders, I don't think the UK incorporated divisions would have the luxury of holding onto profits for an extended duration as the parent company in Japan would obviously suffer when they have to produce their financial statements showing reduced profits because of FX rate deficiencies...
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Hang on a sec. The UK distribution companies have to purchase goods in Yen from parent companies in Japan. They then sell these in the UK in Sterling. If they need more Sterling to buy the same goods then they need to sell them on at a higher Sterling price. The currency hit has to occur in the UK (if the parent companies priced in Sterling - which the wont do - then they would take a hit with their own costs in Japan which they will pay in Yen). You would expect the UK companies to sell gear at a loss would you?

Essentially, the kit is produced in Japan with all or most costs paid in Yen. It is then sold in Sterling. If you need more Sterling for the same amount of Yen then that is what is required!

I dont think it has much to do with repartriation of profits. Regardless, the Japanese parent companies will produce consolidated financial statements, which include all subsidiaries (no matter which country they are in). Currency translations of results expressed in currencies other than the reporting currency (either Yen or maybe USD) will occur anyway when the results are consolidated. For P&L items an average exchange rate for the year is usually used.

I think they would rather sell less volumes than to make a gross loss on everything they sell. Its an unfortunate effect of currencies I'm afraid.
 
It depends on how they operate really. If Canon UK acquire the goods as a transference of assets then FX profit will be a crucial factor for the parent company and will be reflected in their consolidated financial statements in the p&l. FX can be calculated by any means they wish, either per transaction or on a period basis. If this is the case then they can retain their UK profits and calculate the FX at a more favourable time.

If Canon UK have to operate more independently and purchase the assets in the normal fashion so to speak then FX will only be addressed in the p&l in the UK Accounts. If this is the case then there's no reason for the parent company to increase prices and only the UK division would have to do so to allow for FX variances.

Obviously on the final consolidated statements all values will ultimately be shown in the local currency of the parent company for the shareholders and the rate used will most likely be the rate as at the date of the statements otherwise the balance sheet would be misleading and wouldn't show the company's worth at that specific time.
 
I know i'm likely to be linched on this but ...... is this not a time for us togs to make a stand ..... if we all stopped buying for 6-9 months would then Nikon/Canon/Sony take note in the massive drop in sales and be forced to drop prices ..... (similar to Fuel/Gas situation I feel .... big corporates trying to make the masses pay for their excesses).

Sure some purchases will be made due to faulty equip/accidents but sometimes limiting yourself to one lens or a particular setting means you get to challenge and progress your skills with the equipment at hand.

I for one vote for a boycot on all unecessary photo equipment purchase untill the prices go back to reasonable levels.

Get out and use the equipment you have rather than just buying more of it ..... also there is wealth of 2nd hand equipment available

.... baton down the hatches and wait for the flak to subside :runaway: :exit:
 
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gman said:
I personally find that kind of behaviour disgusting and pretty much bullying. Surely they must realise that by not allowing the stores to do this they could end up putting them out of business and therefore subsequently effecting future sales of their own product!
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Yep and it's not just one company that's been doing it. Basically they don't even have adequate demo stock left. I have a backorder on the 85mm that will take at least two weeks to get.

As far as I know Nikon and Olympus will have to look very carefully at the microscope market too. It's affecting all companies trading from Japan to UK because of the currency fluctuation. The company I used to work for make blood testing equipment for the NHS and they are looking at having to increase their prices too. So that increase will have to come out of NHS money i.e. your and my taxes.

No amount of boycotting will make a difference. If you manufacture something that costs 100 yen to make and 100 yen= £100 then you can sell it for anything above that £100 and make a profit. When that £100 is only worth 60 yen there is no way you can sell it for that. You now need to sell it for £140 just to break even. It's market economics and that (very simplified example) is what has happened.
 
gman said:
It depends on how they operate really. If Canon UK acquire the goods as a transference of assets then FX profit will be a crucial factor for the parent company and will be reflected in their consolidated financial statements in the p&l. FX can be calculated by any means they wish, either per transaction or on a period basis. If this is the case then they can retain their UK profits and calculate the FX at a more favourable time.

If Canon UK have to operate more independently and purchase the assets in the normal fashion so to speak then FX will only be addressed in the p&l in the UK Accounts. If this is the case then there's no reason for the parent company to increase prices and only the UK division would have to do so to allow for FX variances.

Obviously on the final consolidated statements all values will ultimately be shown in the local currency of the parent company for the shareholders and the rate used will most likely be the rate as at the date of the statements otherwise the balance sheet would be misleading and wouldn't show the company's worth at that specific time.
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I'm sorry but what you have posted above is simply not true.

I dont really want to get technical, but the balance sheet is shown at year end rate, and the P&L at an average rate for the year. The differences on exchange go through reserves via the Statement of Recognised Gains and Losses (STRGL). :)

Think of Canon as one big consolidated company (as that is how consolidated accounts work) and you will see that what I posted in my original post is true. AliB also has it spot on.

:)
 
AliB said:
No amount of boycotting will make a difference. If you manufacture something that costs 100 yen to make and 100 yen= £100 then you can sell it for anything above that £100 and make a profit. When that £100 is only worth 60 yen there is no way you can sell it for that. You now need to sell it for £140 just to break even. It's market economics and that (very simplified example) is what has happened.
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That is only partly true. If it costs more to idle the production line or reduce line speed then it can be cheaper to produce the goods and sell at a reduced margin or loss even. The manufacturer can also look at making significant cost reductions in many ways to reduce their overall cost of goods. In addition, they could consolidate their ranges / technologies and produce more volume of less items to reduce production costs, and elimimate low profit products.

Look at cars, they are cheaper relatively today than 10+ years ago with vastly more technology, specifications, safety etc included. Most of this has been achieved by the above and in response to competition and consumer demand.
 
It reminds me when kodak increase the cost of their colour paper by 50% last year. £20 a pack went up to £30 a pack in the matter of hours. If only i did not bother umming and ahhhing.
 
Just passed a grand on Japan too!
 
The Statement of Recognised Gains and Losses is a financial statement showing a summary of the major gain and losses. It does not form the basis of calculation of actual FX Profit or Loss on sales or purchases. It may, however, show major exchange rate issues such as an exchange rate loss due to a large bank loan or etc.

Sales or Purchases must use the exchange rate at the date of the transaction, however, an average rate between the date of transaction and actual date of funds being processed may be used so long as the currency does not flucuate significantly. This is official accounting practice as determined by SSAP20 and also addressed by HMR&C.

FX Profit & Loss is shown in the P&L, however, outstanding debts which have FX involvement may be shown in the Balance Sheet. FX Gains or Losses from other activities such as bank loan do not have to be disclosed in the statutory accounts, however, in the detailed P&L it should be shown as a seperate item with regard to Corporation Tax.

The going through reserves you mention I'm presuming you mean the Translation Reserve, but this will only be applicable in the consolidated accounts but not the local statutory accounts of the UK companies.

There's also FRS23 to consider but to be honest I reckon this whole debate is probably worth not continuing as there are so many other factors with regard to exchange rates for special types of transactions and Canon, Nikon and the other large corporations probably have accountants a lot cleverer than us and we don't really know how Canon etc operate and they probably also have Off-Balance-Sheets :LOL: I'm kinda losing track of all this as there's a hungry puppy biting my ankles :help:

I guess it's safe to say they'll do what they want to do and we basically have to take it or leave it. In my opinion I'm not all that bothered as the pound will become strong again unless we really mess things up so it's just a matter of time hopefully before we can see some bargains again :)
 
D3x from 5499.99 to 5999.99
D3 from 3327.65 to 3599.99
D700 from 1957.44 to 2099.99
D300 from 1174.46 to 1279.99

35/ from 244.67 to 279.99
50/1.4 AF-S from 274.03 to 319.99
85/1.4 from 861.27 to 999.99
200/2VR from 3034.03 to 3499.99

14-24 from 1223.39 to 1399.99
24-70 from 1125.52 to 1299.99
105 Micro VR from 587.22 to 679.99
70-200VR from 1419.14 to 1629.99
 
Radiohead said:
D3x from 5499.99 to 5999.99
D3 from 3327.65 to 3599.99
D700 from 1957.44 to 2099.99
D300 from 1174.46 to 1279.99

35/ from 244.67 to 279.99
50/1.4 AF-S from 274.03 to 319.99
85/1.4 from 861.27 to 999.99
200/2VR from 3034.03 to 3499.99

14-24 from 1223.39 to 1399.99
24-70 from 1125.52 to 1299.99
105 Micro VR from 587.22 to 679.99
70-200VR from 1419.14 to 1629.99
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where? much cheaper on camera price buster
 
These are RRP's

You're going to start finding them going up retail as well. Click through from that site to Calumet for a D700 and you'll see what I mean.
 
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