Latest / Family Business Stories with Fexingo: Succession, Legacy, and Multi-Generational Companies / How Leica Defied Digital Disruption
Transcript
- Lucas: So, a camera with no screen, selling for nine thousand dollars, in 2014, when everyone was taking photos on iPhones. That was the bet that saved Leica. Luna: Wait, the Leica M Edition 60? The one without a rear LCD? I remember the photography forums losing their minds. Lucas: Exactly. The thing looked like a film camera — you had to shoot, then later download the files to see what you got. It was deliberately inconvenient. And it worked. Luna: How many did they sell? Lucas: Only twelve hundred units. But that wasn't the point. The point was to signal to dealers, to collectors, to the whole photography world: Leica isn't going to chase the mass market. They're going to double down on what made the brand legendary — precision, heritage, the experience of taking a photo. Luna: And that was a real turnaround? Because I remember in the early 2000s, Leica was in serious trouble. Lucas: Yeah, they were on the brink. Digital photography had basically killed their core business — film cameras. By 2003, Leica was losing money, and the family, the Leitz family, had to bring in outside investors just to keep the lights on. Luna: The Leitz family — they're the ones who founded it, right? Ernst Leitz in the 1800s? Lucas: That's right. Ernst Leitz I started the company in 1849 in Wetzlar, Germany. They made microscopes originally. The first Leica camera, the Ur-Leica, came out in 1925 — designed by a Leitz engineer named Oskar Barnack. The family ran it for five generations. Luna: And they nearly lost it. What happened after 2003? Lucas: They brought in a CEO, Josef Spichtig, who cut costs and stabilized things. But the real shift came in the 2010s. The family realized they couldn't compete with Canon or Nikon on specs. So they competed on soul. Luna: That sounds like a classic family business move — playing the long game, not the quarterly earnings game. Lucas: Exactly. And it helped that the family still controlled the majority of shares through a holding company. They didn't have to answer to Wall Street. They could make a nine-thousand-dollar camera with no screen and say, 'This is who we are.' Luna: But that alone didn't turn the business around. The M Edition 60 was a halo product. What came after? Lucas: The Q series. In 2015, Leica launched the Q — a full-frame compact camera with a fixed 28-millimeter lens, autofocus, and yes, a screen. It was more accessible, but still premium. Priced around four thousand dollars. That thing sold like crazy. Luna: And it brought in a new generation of photographers who maybe couldn't afford the M system but wanted that red dot. Lucas: Yeah. The Q became their gateway drug. And then they expanded into smartphone lenses, binoculars, even a partnership with Huawei on phone cameras. By 2020, Leica was profitable again, with revenue over four hundred million euros. Luna: So what's the family structure now? Still the Leitz family running things? Lucas: Not day-to-day. The family trust, called the Leica Camera AG, is publicly traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, but the Leitz family holds about 51 percent of the voting rights through a holding company called ACM Projektentwicklung. The CEO since 2020 is Matthias Harsch — he's not a family member. He came from the industrial company Voith. Luna: So they professionalized management but kept control. That's a smart succession move — share the upside, retain the vote. Lucas: And the family still has a presence on the supervisory board. The current chairman is Dr. Andreas Kaufmann, who is a descendant of the Leitz family. So the DNA is still there. Luna: It's interesting — a lot of family businesses struggle with the transition from founder-led to professional management. But Leica seems to have done it without losing its identity. Lucas: I think the key was that they never tried to be something they weren't. They didn't launch a budget line. They didn't try to compete with Sony on autofocus speed. They just made the best rangefinder cameras in the world, and then made them digital. Luna: And they kept making film cameras too, right? Even today? Lucas: They still produce the Leica M-A, a fully mechanical film camera. It costs about five thousand dollars. And people buy it. In 2025, they released a limited edition platinum-plated version — I think it was thirty thousand dollars. Sold out instantly. Luna: That's insane. But it shows the power of the brand. You're not just buying a camera; you're buying into a hundred-year-old story. Lucas: And the family understood that better than any outside investor would. That's the advantage of a family business — you can think in decades, not quarters. Luna: Speaking of which — quick practical thing. If these conversations have moved your work forward in some small way, a handful of listeners chip in monthly through buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. That's literally what funds making this many of these. No ads, just listener support. Lucas: And we really mean it when we say it's optional. But it's also what keeps the show independent. We don't have to pitch you a product between stories about family dynasties. Luna: Yeah. So if you've gotten value, consider it. If not, no worries. Back to Leica. Lucas: So where does Leica go from here? The camera market is still shrinking. Smartphones keep getting better. But Leica's strategy is to keep raising prices and shrinking volume. In 2026, they introduced the Leica M12 — starting at nine thousand dollars, and it's back-ordered for months. Luna: And they're expanding into other luxury goods. They have Leica boutiques now selling watches, binoculars, even a collection of leather bags. Lucas: It's a lifestyle brand now. But the core is still the camera. And the family trust still owns the majority. So the story isn't over — but so far, it's a pretty good one. Luna: One question I always have: do you think the family will ever sell? I mean, there must be offers. Lucas: I'm sure there have been. But the Leitz family has said publicly that they want to keep the company independent. And with 51 percent control, they can. The question is whether the next generation feels the same way. Luna: That's the eternal family business dilemma. Stay true to the legacy, or cash out. Lucas: For now, they're staying true. And the market is rewarding them. Leica's market cap hit about two billion euros in early 2026. Not bad for a company that nearly went under twenty years ago. Luna: And all because they dared to make a camera with no screen. Lucas: Sometimes the best way forward is to look back.