October 7th, 2008
Remember Vivitar cameras? Here's what's in store next for the brand
Back in its heyday, the Vivitar brand meant well-priced, good quality lenses, flash units, and SLR film cameras, but more recently it’s been associated with a generic, though broad line of digital cameras. One of the most recent–a limited edition gold version of a ho-hum 7-megapixel point and shoot–had the dubious distinction of being the official camera of the 2007 HBO Emmy’s Luxury Lounge (”Celebrities like Debra Messing, Cheryl Hines, Kathy Griffin, and James Gandolfini were amongst the first to receive the limited edition camera!”). Well, the parent company that produced those cameras filed for bankruptcy and last week canned all of the staff at its European division after selling the storied brand name to Sakar International, a consumer electronics ODM that claims to be the number one supplier of digital cameras to the mass retail channel. (Side note: I recently checked out one of Sakar’s licensed digital cameras–a cheapie Crayola-branded kids camera.)
What does all this mean? It means that you’ll be seeing more Vivitar-branded digital cameras and other digital-photo-related gear on the market as Sakar tries to capitalize on the venerable brand name (which dates back to the early 1960s, though the company itself was established 70 years ago). Sakar plans to introduce cameras priced from $70 to $300, leveraging Vivitar’s existing SKUs, patents, and engineering to bring higher-priced models to Sakar’s existing base (the company did not purchase Vivitar’s equipment or facilities).
Via DCViews
Janice Chen has been covering technology for almost two decades. She got her hands on a Nikon Coolpix 900 back in 1998 and has been a digital camera enthusiast ever since. See her full profile and disclosure of her industry affiliations.
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