Letter to the editor: Malaise and Malaysia do not fit

Reader Des Crawley takes issue with Camera House’s decision to stage its half-year meeting offshore (‘Camera House lays it on the line in Langkawi’: PIN Online, April 13, 2010).

A half yearly meeting in a luxury resort off shore does not go well with recurring sentiments throughout this report that business past and future is problematic. 

Nor does a meeting in a luxury resort seem easy to reconcile with various industry attempts to prevent the average consumer from purchasing product off shore and online when one of the leading photo imaging enterprises celebrates its success by going off shore to do so. 

In monitoring business attitudes and performance in this industry in Australia for 40 years, I can never recall an instance where an 'industry spokesperson' spoke at length about a positive outlook. 

Pessimism, I think, is part of the industry culture that needs to change if 'outlook' by various pundits ever really contributes much at all to actual performance. 

Competition is the corner stone of our economic system and presumably Camera House is competing well. 

Nevertheless, we read here and elsewhere in recent months that factors such as 'free trade' agreements, currency volatility, a rampart unrestrained flood of new product, GST loopholes and an industry seemingly distracted by the arrival of yet another retail group in Sydney's west all 'speak' to an industry evidently still locked into anti-competitive, restrictive practices and fellowship rather than leadership in market innovation. 

I hope to read more of small and large enterprises that are success stories because of their managerial and enterprise skills. 

For example, why was it possible in a year when according to reports the outlook has not been good for Camera House to have a 'healthy increase in profits' and thus able to justify a luxury resort for its six month pep and prep meeting. 

What innovation, cost-benefit strategies, staff training and development initiatives, for example,  were implemented by that organisation that can possibly justify what appears on the surface at least to be a profligate wank at a time of apparent gloom and peril. 

Was much of their positive performance linked only to the economic windfall of government stimulus policy and strong dollar rather than to any specific leadership skill or managerial enterprise? Surely not. 

Surely, industry leadership is more than the reactive strategy of simply waiting for the delivery from overseas of the next 'consumer product' innovation to feed to the masses whilst pre-occupied with closing off competition. 

Surely it is something more than moving to a franchise strategy which is a little like re-arranging the deck chairs.

If this is/was not the case, please tell us what and how could Camera House be so successful when the outlook seems so problematic. 

There is a real story there sorting out uninspired sentiment and malaise fed by stimulus packages and currency windfalls from true managerial initiative to innovate, to change, to lead. 

In the meantime, I am encouraged to go online to buy some consumer product from California. It will arrive in 5-7 days at my door for 25% of the cost of the same product from Melbourne where, on the last occasion, not only were they four times the cost for the same product and took 10 days to arrive but the telephone interaction was simply appalling.

I have spent a lifetime encouraging students, enthusiasts, industry groups to support local initiatives, local enterprise and local jobs. Going off shore to have a 'meeting' speaks to the very excesses that the industry sees and critiques elsewhere.

It seems to me it could do well to be sure its own practices are above criticism if it wants any empathy from its consumer base. If the industry wants to keep jobs here then it can start with helping the hospitality industry here rather than in Malaysia too as well as helping itself.

The industry might also look at some of its employment practices with young people (for example, how much of the corporate dollar was spent on staff training or their professional and commercial development?) 

But please do not examine such practices from some distant luxury resort as that really does little for one's credibility.

If things are really so bad then please substantiate it. 

From my perspective, you are in a 'golden age' of opportunity and could and ought to be really well positioned to become a global leader in marketing imaging products rather than as most consumers perceive as a series of box openers for market initiatives from offshore. 

There are a number of organisations here that have established the template to be global leaders and to my knowledge did so from within the inner western suburbs of Sydney rather than from a beachfront in Malaysia. 

Educate the consumer about the industry's 'best practices' that way you will be proactive and gain back loyalty and identity. 

Having a meeting in Malaysia simply feeds the perception that the industry is doing really well here and profit-taking (as opposed to making) is so great that consumers feel they are being ripped-off and so hunt offshore. 

Might be good short-term business strategy to meet in Malaysia but really poor marketing psychology that fuels staff and consumer alienation. 

One does not purchase from those with whom you are alienated.

- Des Crawley