Amazon partners with Germany's Leica to offer premium cameras in India

Amazon India announced an exclusive partnership to retail premium German camera brand Leica on the ecommerce platform. Amazon is differentiating itself from ecommerce peers by taking a “customer backward” approach wherein they will take initiatives to familiarise consumers with brands through online and offline programs. “We will introduce other products from Leica in the coming months. Customers can avail no cost EMI options in order to make the product more affordable,” said Nadeem Karbhari, Category Leader - Consumer Electronics, Amazon India. In April Amazon will launch Shutterbugs, a program to familiarise photography enthusiasts with these products. Karbhari said that the photography equipment category has witnessed a strong demand with customers buying individual cameras worth over Rs 400,000 on the platform. Amazon currently offers over 5000 products and 280,000 accessories in the camera category. Amazon has already launched programs to assist customers in understanding their consumer electronics requirements for air conditioners and refrigerators and will keep adding such programs to help brands reach target customers, said the company. For the high end handcrafted Leica experience, Amazon will work through their online Camera Store to help camera buyers learn more about the products. Leica Camera will start with three camera models namely D-lux, V-lux and Sofort ranging from Rs 25,000 to Rs 90,000 apart from binoculars and camera accessories.

Leica retails cameras worth upto Rs 4 million from their Delhi based store launched last year. Headquartered in Wetzlar, Germany, the brand had opened the first partner store in the capital city last year along with a boutique in Bangalore. Leica produces cameras, lenses, and sport optics. Leica plans to have 5 stores in the country over the next five years. “We have a monobrand retail store in Delhi. It’s hard for a company to find partners in every city in India. We chose Amazon to reach out to the larger group of well-analysed customer out there,” said Sunil Kaul, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Leica Camera. He added that the company is not only targeting photography connoisseurs but also potential high ticket consumers to buy their products. Currently, more than 50 per cent of Leica’s user base in India consists of serious camera enthusiasts, he said.