By Claire Reilly

Following Ricoh’s worldwide acquisition of the Pentax brand in October, the company has appointed CR Kennedy as its new digital camera distributor for Australia. The agreement will bring both the Ricoh and Pentax brands under the same distribution umbrella and will come into effect 1 February 2012.

Current distributor Tasco will cease to supply cameras on 22 December 2011, thought it will manage repairs and warranty claims until Ricoh’s agreement with CR Kennedy comes into effect.

“Tasco was instrumental in assisting us move to the distributor model in Australia and we wish to thank the team for its efforts in successfully managing the Ricoh brand over the past four years,” said a Ricoh spokesperson.

“With Ricoh and Pentax now under the same ownership, it made operational sense for both brands to be managed by the one distributor in Australia."

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Discussing the departure with Ricoh was Tasco director of Sales, Kevin Johnson.

“Although we are saddened to be parting ways with one of the camera industry’s most innovative brands, the move gives us an opportunity to refocus our efforts on other products in our portfolio,” said Johnson.

“Tasco has a strong heritage in photo accessories and optical products and we look forward to continuing our relationships with existing retail partners with brands such as Bushnell, Tasco, Lens Pen, Optex and Silicon Power,” he said.