Thursday, August 27, 2020

LEICA INTRODUCES ‘MADE IN PORTUGAL’ M LENSES AT LOWER PRICING





By David Farkas, LeicaStore Miami

Today, Leica has announced that they will be offering a series of Made in Portugal M lenses. Nine of the most popular M lenses will be produced at Leica’s factory in Portugal, in addition to the standard German-manufactured lenses. This new range will only be offered for sale in the US.

The motivation behind this move is straightforward. Last year, the US Trade Representative imposed a 25% tariff on a wide range of European goods, including German-made optics. Leica instituted a small price increase to partially cover some of this additional expense. In an effort to mitigate this financial burden for US customers, Leica created a new production line in their existing Portugal facility. Apart from the “Made in Portugal” instead of “Made in Germany” engraving, the lenses are identical in design, manufacture and warranty.

 
Leica Portugal Factory

What is different is the price. Not subject to the import tariff, the lenses are priced at pre-increase 2019 levels. This works out to an average of 10% less expensive across the board. See the list below of all the lenses which will be Made in Portugal for detailed pricing. Note that the lenses do have different product numbers and SKUs from the German-made lenses. Leica will be rolling out the lineup between now and December, starting with the 50mm f/1.4 Summilux-M ASPH in black, silver and black chrome finishes.

Also note that production of Made in Portugal lenses will not impact availability of the standard German-made versions. Customers will be still be able to choose either version.

Made in Portugal Lens Range

Product Number      Description                                                                     Price   Availability

11716 Leica Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4 ASPH, Black (Madein Portugal)       $3,995            Aug 2020
11717 Leica Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4 ASPH, Silver (Madein Portugal)       $4,195            Aug 2020
11715 Leica Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4 ASPH, Black Chrome(Portugal)       $4,595            Aug 2020
11708 Leica Summicron-M 35mm f/2 ASPH, Black (Made inPortugal)        $3,295            Sept 2020
11709 Leica Summicron-M 35mm f/2 ASPH, Silver (Madein Portugal)        $3,495            Sept 2020
11712 Leica Summaron-M 28mm f/5.6, Silver (Made inPortugal)                 $2,595            Sept 2020
11707 Leica Summicron-M 28mm f/2 ASPH, Black (Made inPortugal)        $4,395            Dec 2020
11711 Leica Elmarit-M 28mm f/2.8 ASPH, Black (Made inPortugal)                  $2,295            Dec 2020
11719 Leica Summicron-M 50mm f/2, Black (Made inPortugal)                         $2,395            Dec 2020

Ordering

If you are interested in purchasing any of the Made in Portugal M lenses, you can do so at Leica Store Miami, either by clicking on any of the direct links in the table above, calling 305-921-4433 or by sending an email to info@leicastoremiami.com.

Press Release

In 2019, the United States of America implemented tariffs of 25% on several European products including lenses that are made in Germany. These tariffs make Leica’s Made in Germany lenses significantly more expensive to USA customers. Through extensive efforts in our ongoing goals to support photographers and photo dealers, Leica Camera has made a large investment to establish a second production line in reaction to these global economic developments and market requirements.

With this new production line at Leica Camera’s state-of-the-art facility in Portugal, Leica has decided to offer USA consumers a choice to buy a selection of some of the most popular and essential Leica M-Lenses, stringent to the same quality and standards expected from Leica as our German-made products, Made in Portugal, at a much lower price than their Made in Germany counterparts. The price differential is a direct result of tariffs, and in no way indicative of quality standards. Leica Camera USA will now offer both Made in Germany and Made in Portugal lenses as part of our ongoing product offerings.

“We are committed to excellence and craftsmanship. As a result of the US Tariffs on Made in Germany products, we are offering select lenses made in our Portugal facility, delivering the pristine quality and service our customers expect from Leica.”

This selection of Made in Portugal lenses will only be available in the USA at prices that are not impacted by tariffs, with a scheduled release in stages as follows:

August 2020:

Leica Summilux-M 50 mm f/1.4 ASPH., black – #11716
Leica Summilux-M 50 mm f/1.4 ASPH., silver – #11717
Leica Summilux-M 50 mm f/1.4 ASPH., black chrome – #11715

September 2020:

Leica Summicron-M 35 mm f/2 ASPH., black – #11708
Leica Summicron-M 35 mm f/2 ASPH., silver – #11709
Leica Summaron-M 28 mm f/5.6 silver – #11712

December 2020:

Leica Summicron-M 28 mm f/2 ASPH., black – #11707
Leica Summicron-M 50 mm f/2 black – #11719
Leica Elmarit-M 28 mm f/2.8 ASPH., black – #11711



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5 comments:

  1. AnonymousAugust 27, 2020 at 10:17 AM

    I am glad to see that Leica found a way to circumnavigate those idiotinc tariffs.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousAugust 27, 2020 at 11:33 AM

      Especially if you consider that nothing even remotely like it is being manufactures in the US.

      Delete
  2. AnonymousAugust 27, 2020 at 10:18 AM

    I am sure this move by Leitz will once again stoke the fires of "are the portugese producs as good as the ones coming out of Germany".

    ReplyDelete
  3. UCProfAugust 27, 2020 at 9:40 PM

    Why not, we’ve been down this road with the Leitz Canada lenses, and those were excellent. I’m confident that Leica has QC monitoring in Portugal to ensure quality. So let the collectors pay more for “Made in Germany”.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LEICA Barnack Berek BlogAugust 28, 2020 at 8:36 AM

      Exactly. I have written about this on many occasions. The overall performance parameters that set Leica lenses apart from their competition is not the "Made In Germany" label but the much tighter tolerances they apply during manufacture. It makes no difference where these tolerances are applied.

      Delete

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