My Local Photo Store Closed Today

[Photo Chemist]

That makes me so sad. I'm sorry that you lost this wonderful store.

 

[mike c]

We have a wonderful Camera store here in Downy, originally called Paramount Camera named after the street it was originally located on. Bought my first camera there in 1964, have been shopping there on and off ever since. Sony was the original owner and founder with his son Rodger back in the 50's. Sony died a while back and Rodger ran it tell the year 2000 I think, and sold it to their young and loyal employee Art . Art has done good in keeping the store going, he is extremely busy all the time and has built up a good customer base. It is now called Arts Camera.

 

[images39]

Shortly after posting that my local camera store is closing (Gordon's in Reno, Nevada), I learned that a local camera store in my previous home of St. Louis, Missouri is also closing:

https://www.cccamera.com/

Creve Coeur Camera operated in St. Louis for 40 years, and at one point had eight locations in the area. They supported analog with film, darkroom supplies and a good stock of used cameras. They are going to keep their "School of Imaging" operating (classes, photo walks and trips).

The email I received from them says, "The camera business has been tough, so rather than fighting it... we are closing it."

Another one bites the dust...

Dale

 

[images39]

On the bright side, St. Louis still has Schiller's camera, which has been in business for 125 years:

https://www.schillers.com/

You have to dig pretty deep on their website to see that they support analog, but they do, with film/darkroom, lab, and used analog gear. I hope they keep going strong.

Dale

 

[AgX]

You have to dig pretty deep on their website to see that they support analog.

One of these sites where the user has precisely to know what he is looking for, to find it.
But as in this thread we are discussing mainly the brick&mortar aspect, such veiling on a website luckily does not matter.

 

[Agulliver]

(the following is just my own personal observations of my own local and national market)
Photo retail has always been price sensitive. Back before the internet, I remember customers coming in and getting a run through on the camera they wanted but then going and buying it through mail order in a camera magazine.

I can remember only a few camera shops in Ireland (back in the film days) that could make a living on equipment sales only. Film developing was important and when the one-hour lab arrived it became the main revenue generator.

Move forward to digital cameras sale online and the fall in photo printing and it became harder for the small independent photo retailer to survive. BUT some did by following a niche and specialised market and embracing online sales for their niche.

But the age profile of these retailers is on the far side of 50 and there doesn't appear to be any young people willing to invest in the business.

You have made a lot of good points. I think camera shops also made lots of their money selling film. Many of the shops embraced the "digital revolution" due to short term views...."WE can sell loads of these new cameras to people and make loads of money"....but going forward....people rarely want prints made from digital files...and for many the output of an inkjet printer on decent paper is sufficient and doesn't require visiting a shop. The shops could only sell customers one or two cameras, and then there was no subsequent sales of memory cards or other consumables. The main business dried up.

Some shops survived, for various different reasons. Luton probably benefits from having a university in town which still teaches film photography....there's a small but tangible group of young people who need to buy a reliable used film camera and to keep it fed with film....they also tend to buy their darkroom supplies from the shop. The rest of the gear on display suggests professionals or high end amateurs. They've taken on film processing and the producing of prints which they didn't do until five years ago....and are looking at helping people view old 8mm/s8 films with the hiring out of their projector. Business is good. They are also helped by being one of the few places that repairs cameras. And they have young-ish staff....the owner retired in December 2018 and the store was taken over by staff members and the lady who does the film processing (though she doesn't count as young, as I am sure she'd admit). Hopefully there are the people to keep it going long into the future.

I've found the other stores that survive are also in areas where people actually practise or study photography. Or they are newer digital specialists who have decided to run a side line in film sales.

That said, I am not surprised that many long established shops are closing when the owners want to retire. It's sad, and it does make things more difficult for all of us as local shops disappear.

 

[AgX]

Photo retail has always been price sensitive. Back before the internet, I remember customers coming in and getting a run through on the camera they wanted but then going and buying it through mail order in a camera magazine.

In the 60s in West-Germany and in Belgium it was legal for camera manufactuers to prescribe retail prices. When this legislation was going to be abolished there was a lot of critique and fear at the side of brick&mortar shops, as to such going to happen.

I do not know of camera stores actually getting into severe trouble after retail prices became unregulated.

Furthermore in West-Germany photo mail-order has a long tradition with one big player (Porst). And this already in times of regulated prices (Porst not only sold housec brands, but also manufacturer, and thus regulated, brands)


The current severe trouble at brick&mortar stores to me seems more a commodity than a price issue. (Today one does not even have to mail a letter, or go to a post offic, and returning is no hassle either.)
I am amazed at the unwillingness of many brick&mortar shops to react on this by creating a good mood, but instead stubbornly clinging to their arrogant, unfriendly behaviour towards the client.

 

[foc]

The current severe trouble at brick&mortar stores to me seems more a commodity than a price issue. (Today one does not even have to mail a letter, or go to a post offic, and returning is no hassle either.)
I am amazed at the unwillingness of many brick&mortar shops to react on this by creating a good mood, but instead stubbornly clinging to their arrogant, unfriendly behaviour towards the client.

Yes I agree and I think the main problem is that the retailer does not think like the customer.

A successful seller puts themselves in their customers' shoes and sees what the customer sees. The classic example for online sales is the no-hassle return. Some brick & mortar stores are beginning to cop on to this and offer it as well.

If you want to sell, you have to make it easy for the customer to purchase. Online has shown how it can be done. Now B&M shops have to do better because the customer has to make the effort to visit the shop, so what can they offer the customer as a reward for visiting?
Good experience, friendly & helpful staff, advice and personal service, a choice of order online and collect in store and many more small but important things that will entice the customer to return and purchase again.

 

[MattKing]

All of the above makes sense, provided that customers are willing to pay more than what it would cost them to buy online. I'm not sure enough customers are willing to pay more for better service.

 

[Tom Kershaw]

All of the above makes sense, provided that customers are willing to pay more than what it would cost them to buy online. I'm not sure enough customers are willing to pay more for better service.

I'm not familiar with the situation in Canada, but here in the UK, prices can vary significantly, even between online / mail order retailers.

 

[Sirius Glass]

The current severe trouble at brick&mortar stores to me seems more a commodity than a price issue. (Today one does not even have to mail a letter, or go to a post offic, and returning is no hassle either.)
I am amazed at the unwillingness of many brick&mortar shops to react on this by creating a good mood, but instead stubbornly clinging to their arrogant, unfriendly behaviour towards the client.

During the 1960's, not 1860's, I worked at Baker's Photo in Washington DC. Abe and Ruline Baker always told us that there were not small customers and everyone of them should be treated as a greatly valued customer.

 

[foc]

There was a saying I heard that goes " after you have bought something, you will THEN see it cheaper somewhere else"
Someone, somewhere on the web will have what you want cheaper than the next guy so it's not always about price. An example would be do I buy within the EU (I am EU based) or from somewhere else and incur customs and import duty and wait 30 days for it to arrive?
B&M shops can compete with online and have prices that can match or be near enough as to make any difference and they have it NOW.
The challenge I see for B&M retails is what extra can they offer the customer to entice them to their shop?
Do they make the shopping experience more than just a pop in and purchase?
They need to think outside the box.
Even though I was never in a Lomography shop, they appeared to have enticed customers to come and hang out and make a purchase.
Fuji tried it with the Fuji Wonder Shop with a list of events happening ( a previous poster here had suggested that idea for camera stores).
I am sure better minds than mine can think of better solutions.

 

[Agulliver]

Deregulation of prices was something brought in by the EEC (now known as the EU of course) in the 80s. It applied to books too, where there had been an agreement to sell books at the prices printed on the cover. You'd have prices in £, DM, FF etc on the rear cover of a book...and these were binding. Until that agreement was disbanded by European law. The bookshops cried foul, feeling that the supermarkets would take their business away with cut price popular paperbacks......and they were right. It's good for the mainstream customer who wishes to obtain a cheap copy of the latest popular thriller to read on a transatlantic flight....not so good if you want to order an obscure book on the cultural significance of death across African cultures.

Similarly with photography....I don't know if we ever had that price fixing for photography here in the UK but certainly as the supermarkets and bulk sellers got into offering us a small range of popular goods....it became the thing to go to Argos or even Tesco for a camera rather than the camera shop. Then add the issues of online pricing tending to be lower, digital owners not constantly having to buy film or developing services...times aren't easy for specialist shops including camera shops. But those which have made it to 2019 probably are doing something right. Broadening their services, being in the right area, reaching out to customers, offering a service or skill that the shop which closed down didn't.

 

[AgX]

Deregulation of prices was something brought in by the EEC (now known as the EU of course) in the 80s. It applied to books too, where there had been an agreement to sell books at the prices printed on the cover. You'd have prices in £, DM, FF etc on the rear cover of a book...and these were binding. Until that agreement was disbanded by European law.

Prescribed prices still exist in Germany on books and on prescription drugs. So far the government could keep these from being abolished.

 

[Agulliver]

I am surprised that prescribed prices are allowed for books, the EU is very much into disallowing such restricted practise. It is possible, of course, that Germany has been fined and simply not paid...prescription medicines are also capped in the UK, maximum £9 per item (about EUR10 at the moment)....with deals for those on multiple medications and free prescriptions for those on certain benefits or with certain conditions. I know someone who takes 24 pills each day for various mental and physical ailments....and pays not a penny. Leaves her more money for film

Back to camera shops....I visited Luton Camera Repairs again today to put a C41 film in....and again Jane told me how busy she is, with mail order processing and scanning jobs now coming in faster....and she sold three Olympus film cameras today. From her perspective, business is booming. I don't dare ask how much the two Mamiya 645's in the cabinet are.....they have no price tag!

 

[Pieter12]

Samy's Camera just closed its Santa Barbara store. It's a wonder they stuck around so long after Brooks Institute closed down in 2016.
https://www.noozhawk.com/article/samys_camera_closing_its_doors_20190626

 

[Agulliver]

Yeah I have a friend who worked for Samy's Cameras for a while until they closed the store she was in. Sad times. It's not all stores that are doing well. I suspect there are pockets where film usage is significantly up, and areas where the scene is dead.

And I *still* get people asking me "where on earth did you get film for THAT?"