Lexar Shut Down - Say What?!?!

Yep, you sadly read that correctly. Micron, which is Lexar's parent company, has decided to discontinue the Lexar removable storage retail business. In their company blog yesterday, they announced that they were looking to actively sell the Lexar business.

From Lexar

Micron Technology today announced that it is discontinuing its Lexar® retail removable media storage business. The decision was made as part of the company’s ongoing efforts to focus on its increasing opportunities in higher value markets and channels.The Lexar portfolio includes memory cards, USB flash drives, readers, and storage drives for retail and OEM customers.Micron is exploring opportunities to sell all or part of the Lexar business.

What does this mean for photographers?

This is a huge disappointment to many. I have a collection of SanDisk and Lexar cards (as do many photographers/videographers). I know there are many third party cards out there which I haven't tried. I've just always stuck to Lexar and SanDisk for my photography my entire life. There was a strong brand and value that came with both of those names and I trusted them with my artwork. What will happen with these products and what will happen with the accessory based products (think card readers)? Lexar branded card readers are what I currently use as well. They always have been one of the top items I recommend to other photographers.

What happens next?

Hopefully we will get news of a buyer looking to keep the Lexar legacy continue. We know that there is profit in the Lexar brand, it just wasn't a focus of Micron.