I supose this is par for the course with COVID-19 -Henrys stores closed

[Agulliver]

Non-essential retail shops of most kinds were permitted to open yesterday in England. Predictably the news outlets blasted us with photos of people queuing outside Primark (cheap clothing store).

I took the 30 minute walk into town to visit Luton Camera Repairs and can report that they've reopened. Jane who does the film processing was a nice familiar face to see, I've seen so few such people since March. The staff had been going in last week to prepare for opening and Jane kept her Agfa DLab ticking over. Must be a backlog of films for processing as she reckons up to two weeks for the seven I handed in yesterday. They're in need of customers but it looks like customers will return and ultimately they'll be OK.

 

[Ricardo Miranda]

Thanks for the report on Luton Camera Repairs.
In central London, I can report that the shop I work for is open (Snappy Snaps Soho) as well as Park Cameras, LCR in the Strand and Aperture Printing.

 

[foc]

Last week I decided not to reopen my photo lab and shop. For health reasons I have decided to retire.
It's sad not to be processing film any more but everything in its season.

 

[DonW]

Henry's problems started well before Covid-19. Gross mismanagement and several very questionable strategic moves put them behind the eight ball. At least that's what industry insiders are telling me.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

I heard that a third of restaurants in BC will never open again. It's going to take many, many years for economies to recover.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Henry's problems started well before Covid-19. Gross mismanagement and several very questionable strategic moves put them behind the eight ball. At least that's what industry insiders are telling me.

The store in our mall was always empty, since they opened last Autumn. I knew they wouldn't last. Meanwhile, Kerrisdale Cameras seems to be clipping along.

 

[Agulliver]

Last week I decided not to reopen my photo lab and shop. For health reasons I have decided to retire.
It's sad not to be processing film any more but everything in its season.

Sad to hear that but hopefully it is the right decision for you.

I suspect a number of small businesses owners will have taken the decision that it might be time to retire. Restarting will be a struggle for a lot of businesses. We're lucky in Luton that when the original owner retired around Christmas 2018 his employees decided to take it on. If anything they've increased business by drawing attention to selling film cameras, film and related services. It's not that they can't sell you the latest digital camera, but they won't have it in stock and they can take a couple of weeks to arrive. So they recommend a shop in nearby Stevenage that does specialise more in digital cameras. In that way perhaps the two businesses complement each other. Both shops made the right call by focusing on different aspects of the camera/photography business.

 

[foc]

Sad to hear that but hopefully it is the right decision for you.

I suspect a number of small businesses owners will have taken the decision that it might be time to retire. Restarting will be a struggle for a lot of businesses. We're lucky in Luton that when the original owner retired around Christmas 2018 his employees decided to take it on. If anything they've increased business by drawing attention to selling film cameras, film and related services. It's not that they can't sell you the latest digital camera, but they won't have it in stock and they can take a couple of weeks to arrive. So they recommend a shop in nearby Stevenage that does specialise more in digital cameras. In that way perhaps the two businesses complement each other. Both shops made the right call by focusing on different aspects of the camera/photography business.

Thank you for your kind words.

 

[Black Dog]

Non-essential retail shops of most kinds were permitted to open yesterday in England. Predictably the news outlets blasted us with photos of people queuing outside Primark (cheap clothing store).

I took the 30 minute walk into town to visit Luton Camera Repairs and can report that they've reopened. Jane who does the film processing was a nice familiar face to see, I've seen so few such people since March. The staff had been going in last week to prepare for opening and Jane kept her Agfa DLab ticking over. Must be a backlog of films for processing as she reckons up to two weeks for the seven I handed in yesterday. They're in need of customers but it looks like customers will return and ultimately they'll be OK.

I've got a fair sized pile of C41 films waiting to be processed, which I'm dispatching bit by bit to my usual labs (One vision and Peak Imaging).