ARRI closing up shop, needs a buy-out - maybe Sony?

[Andrew Reid]

ARRI are closing two factories in Germany.

https://www.eoshd.com/news/arri-closes-factories-contemplates-company-sale/

The ALEXA factory remains for now.

150 jobs are to go.

Reasons for this and words from ARRI's spokesperson are in the article above.

But in a nutshell they really need saving - and like Nikon buying RED, it should be Sony to do it for ARRI.

They will lead the cinema camera world if they do.

The question is will there still be a cinema camera industry if the current pace of collapse continues?!

[Clark Nikolai]

4 hours ago, Andrew Reid said:

ARRI are closing two factories in Germany.

.....

The question is will there still be a cinema camera industry if the current pace of collapse continues?!

Wow! This is surprising to me. Maybe the market is saturated for that type of camera.

[Davide DB]

If Panasonic would wake up, they could be the ones to get their hands on Arri.

They already have a collaboration for the color profile, and Panasonic no longer has the professional division.

But, as you say, the old Japanese guys have completely lost their minds.

Could it be a Chinese company that pulls off the big coup?

 

[ND64]

1 hour ago, Davide DB said:

If Panasonic would wake up, they could be the ones to get their hands on Arri.

They're already closing down their pro services, and no way they invest in a zero growth business when they kill their own zero growth businesses.

Canon can't do it. That would be all against their ego. They and their customer base believe Canon color science is best in the world, and thats why they have 50% market share. They're like "we ain't need nobody". 

Sony will have a integration nightmare if they do it. Arri systems are in conflict with the whole Sony line up. Also it would be an official admission that the electronics/AV giant couldn't get the color science right and eventually had to go shopping.

Nikon acquisition of RED unintentionally made this perception that its a preferred approach in Tokyo. But it isn't. Nikon had to choose between two costly options and the acquisition was cheaper.

In China, its only DJI who can gain a lot with Arri reputation in its arsenal, but I don't think Germans are comfortable with giving away this German icon to Chinese.

Zeiss would be the perfect owner. A German brand with enough money, so the brand stays in the country, and they're heavily invested in high end part of the cine market. 

[Tim Sewell]

My understanding was that this is related to their decision to reduce their activities in the lighting and grip side of the industry, not cameras.

[Django]

Let's not forget Nikon had no cine line, it was a clean buy with zero conflict of interest. Canon and Sony already have full cinema lines, so buying ARRI would create instant internal turf wars. Canon’s C-series and Sony’s VENICE would clash hard with the Alexa pipeline. 

At this point the wild card that makes the most sense is Apple. They could scoop ARRI up without blinking, keep it running as a prestige pro division, and then quietly bake LogC + ARRI color science straight into the iPhone Pro pipeline. Zero internal conflict, huge marketing flex, and a perfect fit with Apple’s long-term imaging strategy.

[ArashM]

As far as their lighting goes, since about 2 years ago I've been seeing Aputure and Nanlite products trickle in on big film sets, I think this was bound to happen.

Also IMHO I don't see a single camera company fit to take up Arri!

[John Matthews]

10 hours ago, ND64 said:

They're already closing down their pro services, and no way they invest in a zero growth business when they kill their own zero growth businesses.

I don't think is actually a sign of much anymore. It has more to do with stream-lining the European division. Panasonic is already a partner for ARRI. If they have the cash, that would be great though! Then again, why would they need that? They've already got ARRI Log in their cameras! How could they improve- they already have the best? Maybe they should just give us that S1Hii? Anyway, ARRI closing factories is more about Hollywood than a dysfunctional company.

[ND64]

44 minutes ago, John Matthews said:

I don't think is actually a sign of much anymore. It has more to do with stream-lining the European division

Streamlining the regional division is an internal matter and shouldn't send uncertainty message to customers. But regardless of the recent event, its been known for years that they are more inclined to jettison businesses that don't make money or see no growth in horizon rather than saving a struggling business with god knows how much debt. 

44 minutes ago, John Matthews said:

ARRI closing factories is more about Hollywood than a dysfunctional company.

Is it? Hollywood has audience problem, not a money problem. The number of shoot days in Los Angeles decreased, but its only in TV/Commercials, which is not necessarily a Arri market. Feature film shoot days are actually increasing. 

[Benjamin Hilton]

Yeah the whole nature of the business is changing rapidly. It's easy to keep pace when you're working in the YouTube world, but I can't imagine how tough it must be in the Hollywood circles. 

[Andrew Reid]

16 hours ago, ND64 said:

Zeiss would be the perfect owner. A German brand with enough money, so the brand stays in the country, and they're heavily invested in high end part of the cine market. 

Camera market is a total sideshow for Zeiss, whose main income stream is from EUV lithography machine lenses, as a partner with ASML -> TSMC.

The iPhone CPU is etched into silicon using Zeiss glass.

These big companies are interested in growth.

They'd rather buy an unprofitable, but growing company, than a profitable but stagnant one.

The Chinese might buy ARRI for the patents and branding.

Only if it stays in German hands will they continue as a cinema camera manufacturer.

That's what I think anyway and I could be wrong, we'll see.

[Andrew Reid]

3 hours ago, Benjamin Hilton said:

Yeah the whole nature of the business is changing rapidly. It's easy to keep pace when you're working in the YouTube world, but I can't imagine how tough it must be in the Hollywood circles. 

For a start nobody seems to be able to concentrate for long enough to watch what is being made.

Boomers have movies on in the background like elevator music for smartphone scrolling.

Everyone could do the industry a favour by un-addicting themselves from their phones for long enough to look up for 10 seconds and watching something long-form, challenging and not family friendly.

But everyone is too exhausted and overworked for it, and they have children hanging around on tablets - you can't get the time as a couple to go out and watch Taxi Driver and you can't put it on at home either because it would upset the brats.

It's a big cultural shift in the world and filmmaking is one of the big victims of it.

It is strange as pre-pandemic, I thought cinema was doing well and there was that moment when Oppenheimer / Barbie were all that people talked about, and the F1 movie has done incredibly well, one of the biggest grossing movies of all time.

Apple is spending billions on movie production.

There are signs of life.

Why is it that everyone seems to be struggling so much - well, it's just a typical industry recession, less demand, because put simply - there's just TOO MUCH CONTENT and too much competition from people's shitty phone addictions for the customer's attention.