Mr Ulrich Buchholtz, Group Chirman and Mr Jackie Chan, Vice President, Sales & Marketing

“The beginning of Schmidt Group dates back to 1896,” says Ulrich Buchholtz, Group Chairman for Schmidt Group of Companies. “We have over 110 years of experience in distribution, marketing and service with a strong historical background in our three main businesses, namely electronics, BioMedTech and marketing.”

As the three lines of business grew larger and stronger, the Schmidt  Group was streamed into three independent enterprises in 2001. One of these businesses was Schmidt Marketing Asia Limited. Today,  Schmidt Marketing is responsible for photo and consumer brands.

Buchholtz explains, “The Leica brand was developed under Ernst Leitz Wetzlar GmbH, a world-renowned manufacturer of fine optics and mechanics. The brand started out with a range of microscopes and a land surveying business before it developed the original Ur-Leica, the first Leica camera.”

The business has benefitted from the split, says Buchholtz. “The groups are run by professionals and therefore are very focused and dedicated. Many other companies in Asia or Hong Kong are trade-oriented, but with technologies becoming more diversified, it is important for trade companies to become more value-added distributors.”

Buchholtz sees Schmidt Marketing as an integrated service provider, engaged in much more than straightforward product sales. “Providing [complete] solutions to customers nowadays is no longer a trend but an essential,” he said. “We are also developing our own wireless solutions for tracking and are looking into delivering a higher level of customer service.”

The mainstay product lines for Schmidt are Leica cameras and lenses, according to Jackie Chan, Vice President for Sales and Marketing. The company also represents some accessory lines like camera bags, filters and flash. “This allows us to offer our customers a total solution,” says Chan.

Product training is one of the key services offered by the firm and it sets them apart from the competition. “It is rather difficult for a trading company to have a high level of expertise. This is where Schmidt Marketing customers have the advantage. They are served by talented experts in the field.”

To better serve its clientele, Schmidt does not follow the usual demographic approach. “Our target segment is the high-end market, so instead of the usual segmentation by age, income and demographics, our new approach groups clients into four target market segments. Beginning last year, we have classified customers on the basis of their requirements – some seek status, some seek value, others look for quality first and there are the trend seekers. This makes for a more well-rounded strategy and customer needs-based planning.”

Buchholtz elaborates, “For example, the digital photography boom caters to status seekers and trend seekers, a market that did not exist before for Leica. Leica has traditionally focused on quality and value. But customers who have an analogue camera and would like an M8 are looking for status, and this is the market segment we are attempting to enter.”

While Leica has digital compact cameras it did not launch them on a regular basis as other major brands have been doing. Neither did it have a digital camera in its popular M series, until the release of the first digital M8 in 2006.

Says Buchholtz, “The digital M8 essentially completed the product family. This camera suits Leica owners who have long wanted an updated, digital camera in their M series collection. The M8.2, our latest, caters for status seekers who are looking to complete their M series collection.”

Constant innovation throughout the product development cycle is crucial for Leica’s market growth. “Leica has been working long and hard to get their digital strategy right in a market which has been mainly driven by the Japanese,” Buchholtz says. “They have done a good job in creating some of the best digital compact cameras around, but what makes a difference is that Leica’s M8 is German-designed and manufactured.”

Chan added, “Leica is also putting more effort in the research and development of the R series, a new compact LCD projector with super Leica lens to be marketed in December, as well as a new medium format called S2. The first demo was shown at Photokina in Germany in September 2008. The camera will be ready in second half of 2009.”

The first Schmidt Marketing flagship store in Taipei opened recently and the second flagship store will open in Beijing on December 5. Leica’s game plan is to open 20 to 30 shops worldwide in the next few years. “We constantly strive to enhance our corporate identity, while also allowing our dealers to ride on the flagship stores’ expertise and guarantee greater success for them. We want to create an experience for customers that makes them feel pampered,” says Buchholtz.
- Alex Lai

PHILOSOPHY
Our mission has always been to remain the number-one value-added distribution company for selected products and services in the field of photography and consumer industries.
We work around our core values: customer intimacy, teamwork, a sense of urgency, respect for individuals and quality. In addition, we are keen on meeting the ever changing needs of our customers through marketing and providing innovative customised total solutions and high-technology products and services

FAST FACTS

2008
As an independent group, Schmidt Marketing has established a network of companies throughout Asia Pacific. Schmidt Marketing today has a distribution network which covers Greater China and Southeast Asia. Today Schmidt Marketing Asia operates local subsidiaries in Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and recently also Vietnam