Hot News : Fuji UK setup online shop direct to customer.

RobC

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Hot news:

Fuji film UK have set up a UK online shop. http://www.fujilab.co.uk/catalog/

In some ways this is good news in that getting any of their films should now be a breeze. But it indicates that the dealer network is not doing its part in selling enough of the stuff if Fuji feel that they can no longer rely on dealer sales. Perhaps its just part of the massive move towards online retailing or it could be indicative of falling sales if dealers are not prepared to stock film. I don't know.
Ilford has also done this but through its dealer network thereby supporting participating dealers. Fuji have taken the dealers out of the loop. It's an interesting development.
 

pentaxuser

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I got an e-mail on it today and had a look at prices. With the 5% discount they are pretty reasonable, especially for Acros where there seems to be no bargains, no matter what the source of supply chosen.

pentaxuser
 

Thanasis

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The email I received from them, says that they are going to set up overseas shipping soon.
 

gr82bart

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Fuji UK must know something about it's fellow nationals' buying habits. I see any vehicle that makes film more accessible, even if only one nation at a time, as a good thing. Goodness knows many of the retail stores are doing everything they can to kill film. I say Kodak and Ilford take a look at this as a viable alternative to increasing film sales.

Though I have admit making an analogy to Polaroid making online sales as a last gasp of air strategy. I hope this isn't the case at all.

Regards, Art.
 
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pentaxuser

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If you are the maker then increasing your sales can only be done by direct sales if you believe that the shops charging more than you do are seriously damaging sales. For instance if I offer you the same film for 30p less than most stockists will it increase your purchase of film significantly and thus my sales? I am not sure it would.

If it won't and if my undercutting shops will result in their ceasing to stock any of my film because they can't sell it then I might actually damage my total sales even if I can sustain a big enough and efficient enough mail order for the whole country.

It could be a big gamble. In the ltd case of Acros and allowing to the 5% discount which is admittedly for a ltd period only, none of the other stockists that I know of,come close to the Fujifilm price except 7Dayshop which only just matches and does so by avoidance of VAT. Take that advantage away and some others come very close to 7dayshop prices in general.

Digressing a bit but the real problem is that it seems to be a far from perfect market place price-wise where prices should hover about the same figure but while some charge a reasonable( and presumably a small profit) price, others want a mark-up which is almost twice that price and may succeed in putting people off from buying more film.

Maybe Fuji is trying to sound a wake-up call to those kind of high mark-up merchants or is simply improving brand loyalty amongst its own club members by this gesture.

pentaxuser
 

Ian Grant

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It is not Fuji selling direct to the public.

As this isn't actually Fuji's own on-line shop there's no problems selling overseas. It is not Fuji selling direct to the public, and the website and company are not owned by Fuji. The same company has the BJP & Nikon as clients.

Who Are We?
The Fuji Pro Shop is run by 2000net.com Ltd t/a WPS Media, Fujifilm UK's web agency.

Domain name:
fujilab.co.uk

Registrant:
Fuji Processing Laboratory

Registrant type:
UK Limited Company, (Company number: 3199294)

Registrant's address:
Premier Artwork Ltd
62 Central Avenue
Wigston
Leicester
Leicestershire
LE18 2AA
GB
 
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RobC

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This was based on the email I was sent from choose-film.com which is as follows:


of course if Ian has superior knowledge on this and confirmation that 200net.com Ltd is nothing to do with Fujifilm UK, then I would like to hear about it as it would indicate that choose-film.com are misleading people.
I await proof to the contrary.
 

aparat

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Very sneaky. They made their web design look similar to Fujilim's. It looks like they're using the open-source "osCommerce" software (I believe Megaperls uses the same software).
 

pentaxuser

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Ian. Thanks for that clarification. My speculation about what Fuji is doing has no basis. It's not Fuji doing anything. I have checked more of the range and it's the old story. There is a bargain called Acros but a number of other films are more expensive than similar stockists. Choppping and changing between suppliers, each with no doubt a min postage charge isn't a viable option so this company overall and for a range of films is no cheaper, I suspect, than others.

Ah well.

pentaxuser
 
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RobC

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chose-film.com is owned by fujifilm uk so if they say www.fujilab.co.uk is a fuji company then I can only assume it is until someone proves it isn't.
The registered address of a company does not prove that a company is not owned by Fuji. That is misleading. The original link is correct.

However, it does seem that fuji are setting up several businesses to sell film online and thereby bypassing dealer networks.
 

pentaxuser

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P.S. The Choosefilm e-mail says that they have deliberately kept shipping costs as low as possible but on the website you are directed to there are no up front shipping costs available. You can't even get to checkout which is the usual way of ascertaining P&P without registering as a customer. It all smacks of a form of inertia selling i.e. once you're in they hope you will buy a full range of things but to get you in there are some bargain basement "lures" and you cannot check out all costs in advance.

I don't understand why they don't tell you up front about the P&P. If you have to go to the trouble of registering, then find out that overall the package isn't as good as it looked, you feel angry that they have put you to that trouble.

Or do you? What I have noticed is that this kind of thing doesn't bother most people of around about my son's age i.e it's maybe a generation thing and the chances are that this company is run by people closer to my son's age than mine. Unless the "wrinklies" are seen as important why cater for their sensibilities about the need to be "up front" about things.

Must go as I feel a rant coming on!

pentaxuser
 
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RobC

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Well if fujifilm UK are trying everything they can to keep and / or increase film sales, that can only be a good thing. From my dealings with them, only limited, I was of the impression that they are very enthusiastic about keeping film alive instead of rushing to shut the shop like some companies in the clamour to get aboard the digi bandwagon.
 

benjiboy

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I see they don't list 220, I heard recently they were going to cease manufacture, it looks like it's true.
 

John Bragg

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The costs are readily available on the site: http://www.fujilab.co.uk/catalog/shipping.php
 

pentaxuser

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Thanks John. I had missed that section. I am sure it is a genuine online shop but if it was direct from Fuji, the manufacturer, then I wouldn't have expected it to be selling Acros at way below at what I can find it elsewhere but other Fuji films at more than such places as Mathers. If it can genuinely undercut on Acros, why not other films in the Fuji range? Overall I think its P&P is probably on a par with Mathers. If you buy a range of Fuji films and then I strongly suspect Mathers to be keener or certainly just as keen.

It's an OK website with reasonable prices- just not quite the bargain it first appeared to be when I checked on Acros only but then couldn't find similar keen prices on other Fuji films.

pentaxuser
 
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