CR Kennedy no longer Hasselblad distributor in Australia.

[flash]

Got a reply to an enquire I made yesterday after noticing HB items no longer listed on their site. Confirmed in reply from sales manager.

I don't know about New Zealand, but would assume the same. Also not sure what's going on moving forward. CR Kennedy are also the distributor of DJI in Oz and they seem to still be listed??

Gordon

[bdp]

Very worrying! Where/who do we get support from?

I have texted the (ex) sales manager to ask...

For example, I want to buy extra batteries for my X1DII but B&H won't ship batteries overseas, and the Hasselblad store will only ship inside Europe. If there is no longer an Australian dealer, how do I buy anything?

Also repairs - can I send directly to Sweden myself? I will ask Hasselblad support for an answer.

[Larsb]

Supply here in Australia is dreadful.  I really want to buy the 38mm lens for my X2D, but no one can give me an idea of when it would be available.   Everything Hasselblad is out of stock all across Australia and it's nearly impossible to get something.  I've asked multiple times with different shops and get either no response, or "we will get back to you" (and never do).   Come on Hasselblad, you can do better than this!

[Orokaj]

Yeah they were poorly managed and with X2D's launch it didn't get better. But the Victorian manager Jeremy was a nice chap to deal with, even I did not end up getting the unit from him, he did his best to update me. I believe they are just as frustrated as us customers when it comes to dealing with HB =D

PS. Selling a spare x2d body here in NZ if anyone's interested

[flash]

Yeah they were poorly managed and with X2D's launch it didn't get better. But the Victorian manager Jeremy was a nice chap to deal with, even I did not end up getting the unit from him, he did his best to update me. I believe they are just as frustrated as us customers when it comes to dealing with HB =D

PS. Selling a spare x2d body here in NZ if anyone's interested

I'm looking for a second body. But I'm in Oz so we'd have to look at shipping.... Or I fly over.

email me cahillgt (at) gmail (dot) com if that suits you.

Gordon

[michael123]

Very worrying! Where/who do we get support from?

I have texted the (ex) sales manager to ask...

For example, I want to buy extra batteries for my X1DII but B&H won't ship batteries overseas, and the Hasselblad store will only ship inside Europe. If there is no longer an Australian dealer, how do I buy anything?

Also repairs - can I send directly to Sweden myself? I will ask Hasselblad support for an answer.

As I bought most of my equipment in B&H, I can confirm that Sweden does repair.
But for other dealers you need to go through the dealer

[bdp]

Well I emailed Hasselblad support about a repair and they were encouraging me to go through Georges cameras in Sydney. I asked if they are now the importer/dealer but no response. Georges is more of a main street camera store with fast talking salespeople for tourists and amateurs, a far cry from the kind of agent with a proper rep who would visit my studio with gear for me to demo and give me support when things broke.

B&H won't send me batteries. My only option for a spare battery is to set up a freight forwarding account in Germany, buy from the Hasselblad store and have it delivered there, then they will send it to me. For some reason they are able to ship batteries but it seems harder from the US - everyone refuses to do it even though DHL and Fedex both say they can do it.

I don't know if it was Hasselblad or CR Kennedy who made the decision to stop them being a dealer, in the end it's usually about money. But with the recent discontinuation of the H, and Hasselblad dealers gradually disappearing, it makes me worry that Hasselblad is being considered (by themselves and others) less and less as a professional tool, for studio photographers, and more a camera for wealthy amateurs.

Not happy about this situation.

[Orokaj]

Well I emailed Hasselblad support about a repair and they were encouraging me to go through Georges cameras in Sydney. I asked if they are now the importer/dealer but no response. Georges is more of a main street camera store with fast talking salespeople for tourists and amateurs, a far cry from the kind of agent with a proper rep who would visit my studio with gear for me to demo and give me support when things broke.

B&H won't send me batteries. My only option for a spare battery is to set up a freight forwarding account in Germany, buy from the Hasselblad store and have it delivered there, then they will send it to me. For some reason they are able to ship batteries but it seems harder from the US - everyone refuses to do it even though DHL and Fedex both say they can do it.

I don't know if it was Hasselblad or CR Kennedy who made the decision to stop them being a dealer, in the end it's usually about money. But with the recent discontinuation of the H, and Hasselblad dealers gradually disappearing, it makes me worry that Hasselblad is being considered (by themselves and others) less and less as a professional tool, for studio photographers, and more a camera for wealthy amateurs.

Not happy about this situation.

I know a guy who ordered the camera and 55v last Sep from Georges, got it earlier this year but no lens, still no lens until this day...he has since moved on from eagerly waiting to check every few months...but nothing has changed..

[flash]

According to CRK, who have an order from me for a 90mm, fully paid, they still expect HB to fulfill that order but don't know when. They also promised a full refund if that doesn't happen, which would be less than ideal because I'm reasonably sure I'm close to first on the list in Oz. I still have my original 90, which works great. And I have my 38 and 55 which I got on launch day. But I like the new lenses enough that the upgrade to the new 90 is what I want. Actually what I wanted was a 110 to properly match the 55. And a wide zoom.

I hope it's not Georges. I've tried to establish a relationship there a few times but they tend to go through staff so it's difficult. Ideally Hasselblad would do what Leica did and set up a couple of flagship stores. But they'd need some stock first. Leica have done very well with the Leica store concept and it's hard to see that HB haven't looked at that model. But again, they need stock. I was in the Leica store in Rome recently and it was a bit sad with mostly empty shelves. Sydney and Melbourne are much better stocked and displayed. I'd even be happy with Digi Direct. I have a god relationship there.

Fortunately I'm sitting on a shit ton of batteries. I have 5 bodies and about 3 extra batteries on top of that. Some with the older lower capacity but they all still work and I rotate them as best as possible. Plus with the X2D you can charge on the fly with a power bank. It's entirely possible to just have one battery for most people.

Gordon

[Larsb]

I'm trying to buy a 38mm lens for my new X2D, but no one will even take my order.  The stock situation in Australia is really bad, and I am wondering if I made the right choice with buying the X2D.  It's starting to look like Hasselblad are pulling out of Australia

[MSuser]

I don't live in Australia, so I'm viewing from a distance. But, Hasselblad does not distribute their products directly there or in many other parts of the world. Where they don't have direct distribution, local companies purchase and distribute their products to retailers or consumers.

Perhaps Hasselblad's distributor has not provided adequate support for their products in Australia or perhaps the distribution problem there lies with Hasselblad. I have no way of knowing. I would consider both possibilities and investigate both before making any judgements and placing blame.

A good place to start would be by sending an email to marketing@hasselblad.com to inquire and voice your concerns where it may have a useful effect.

[bdp]

I don't live in Australia, so I'm viewing from a distance. But, Hasselblad does not distribute their products directly there or in many other parts of the world. Where they don't have direct distribution, local companies purchase and distribute their products to retailers or consumers.

Perhaps Hasselblad's distributor has not provided adequate support for their products in Australia or perhaps the distribution problem there lies with Hasselblad. I have no way of knowing. I would consider both possibilities and investigate both before making any judgements and placing blame.

A good place to start would be by sending an email to marketing@hasselblad.com to inquire and voice your concerns where it may have a useful effect.

Yes, it's a mystery. The sales rep hasn't responded to phone or text messages from me asking why.

Good suggestion to contact marketing, thanks.

When I emailed HB support they said they weren't even aware CR Kennedy were not dealers anymore. They said: "CR Kennedy is the only local dealer we have in Australia and I did not know that they stopped selling stock. Thanks for the Info. Will ask my colleague about this too."

[Larsb]

Definitely some good comments / views here. I also emailed Hasselblad APAC twice over the last month, but never received a reply. I guess in Australia, one is often down the list of priorities (for understandable reasons), but I would have expected at least some stock to trickle in

[MSuser]

Thanks, good suggestion.

When I emailed support they said they weren't even aware CR Kennedy were not dealers anymore. They said: "CR Kennedy is the only local dealer we have in Australia and I did not know that they stopped selling stock. Thanks for the Info. Will ask my colleague about this too."

I think that marketing email address goes to marketing at headquarters in Sweden. I hope it helps.

Best regards to Australia, New Zealand, and your neighbors in that lovely part the world.

[bdp]

HB support just got back to me and said they are planning on having "D1 Store" as the local Australian dealer. It looks like it is a DJI retail store.