Ritz Camera files Chapter 11

[Jeff Kubach]

On one hand I'm sorry too see another camera shop go under, but Ritz Camera caused their own downfall.

Jeff

 

[Lee L]

I feel for Cord Camera, which recently closed their area stores here. Now that was a good company.

The last time I went to Cord (about 4 years ago), they had a new operator who printed my 27 rolls of a spring desert trip about as badly as possible, magenta skies, too dense, even with an EI 2/3 stop more than box speed. I asked for a full reprint, but the manager wanted me to go through all >1000 prints at the counter and make notes on how to correctly print each one. She was always sullen and resented having to deal with customers, not just me.

Maybe it was a good company, but they needed better employees.

The last time I went to Ritz they were still printing optically. I had to return the prints and tell them to clean the printer lens, which was badly fogged on the outer surface and losing a lot of contrast.

Any store that relies on the margins from camera sales is not going to survive long, especially in the current economy.

Lee

 

[DMCarbo]

I went to a Ritz in Maryland looking for some 35mm film, and see what they had for Nikon Lenses the clerk says....Oh.. Nikon and Canon dont make film cameras anymore and the Nikon lenses are digital only. He went on to tell me how they no longer make film and how anything you buy now is old stock...when its gone its gone.
TRUE STORY ! I could not keep my mouth shut...I asked where he got his info ..."why its common knowledge" he replied ! I guess the next time I see him he will say something like "You want fries with that ?.....better get them now...they are not making them anymore ! "

 

[BobNewYork]

It's a sign of the times. The competition is extreme and if you're going to compete on price then customers can only get what they pay for. The reality is that the majority of the staff simply aren't paid enough to give a damn. If you're competing with say CVS at 20 cents a print you have a problem with quality. The chains, for example, don't, (or didn't) have to purchase paper and chemistry - they paid Kodak by the print. They don't have to pay for maintenance of the processors - they buy enough to get that free. It's like the Nikon FM10 - made to a price - not a quality level. So the downward spiral goes. Cheap[er staff, cut maintenance corners etc.

I had a small camera store and studio until a few years ago. You couldn't compete on equipment sales. You'd spend hours with people discussing the right camera etc with them - then they'd come back with the camera you recommended from Best Buy or whatever and ask you to show them how to use it! Plus the box stores would sell this stuff for less than it cost me to buy it. The $100 more that a camera cost from me was the entire gross margin - which on a $1,200 piece of equipment ain't a lot!

CVS would send people in to me to get jammed film out of their cameras. Then they'd take the film back to CVS for the processing.

My niche became B&W film and paper. I worked with all the school kids who would come in for supplies. Evaluate their technique etc. I'd even go to schools and repair and align their enlargers. Then the local Wally World decided to stock Tri-X and 5x7 paper at prices about 10% below my cost! Didn't stop people coming in for help and advice - stopped 'em buying from me though!

One summer my son worked in the photo dept. at Best Buy - he was written up for spending too much time with customers! Apparently his job was not to help customers - it was to sell them stuff!!


"It's "brave new world" out there and and seven days a week of 12 hour days fighting a losing battle just wasn't worth it. Guess what? I'm a part time commercial photographer now!

You guys just had to get me going! Didn't you?

 

[keithwms]

I don't see how this could be regarded a good thing. Even if I hated the store (actually I thought it was spotty but kinda okay) I wouldn't wish this outcome upon photography, on the general amateur population (which may not want to order via credit card online), nor ultimately the American taxpayer.

Let's see, where do we stand. Circuit city is bankrupt; BestBuy is rumoured to be not far behind. Ritz is gone. Options are disappearing. Not just for photography but for damn near everything.

This is not good in the long run... regardless of what you think of these establishments. They are not disappearing because of the issues mentioned above... they are disappearing because there are many ways to evade taxes by buying online and computers are cheaper clerks than.. real clerks. Hence online retailers are essentially subsidized with respect to their brick-and-mortar counterparts. This will change... but maybe not before people are buying groceries online. It's not good. Not good at all. And apparently most folks won't know that it's not good until the damage is irreparable and the purchasing options are down to B&H and Adorama.

This is all fine for those of us who can hop in the car and drive up to Manhattan and see firsthand what we are buying... but what about the 200 million other folks in the U.S. and beyond.

(N.b. I definitely have my issues with Ritz but I also am willing to complain to mgmt. and/or address the clerks with my issues... and in most cases they were immediately resolved. I think the local stores serve a vital function in the local photographic economy, that is my beef with some of the comments above.)

 

[df cardwell]

And the last time anybody here bought something from a REAL camera shop ?

Well ?

 

[Richard Wasserman]

And the last time anybody here bought something from a REAL camera shop ?

Well ?

Does Calumet count? I walked in and bought 40 sheets of 4x5 Astia about 10 days ago, although I then ordered 100 more from Badger Graphics because their price was about 20% lower. I see where this is going...

Richard Wasserman

 

[AshenLight]

And the last time anybody here bought something from a REAL camera shop ?

Well ?

Last Sunday. 120 HP5+, Perceptol and FB MG-IV at Hunt's Photo in Melrose MA.

Ash

 

[keithwms]

And the last time anybody here bought something from a REAL camera shop ?

Well ?

Monthly, roughly. I am very lucky to have that option where I live.

 

[alanrockwood]

A while back I went into the local Ritz store (Inkley's) to buy some kodachrome and the guy behind the counter didn't even know what it was.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

I'm in my local Penn Camera branch at least once a month, sometimes more often than that. I have bought new from them (Canon 5D outfit, extra 580EX flash and STE2 remote control module), used (most recent was the 35mm F2 for Contax G), and film and processing for color neg. As a general rule they have been pretty flexible with price matching, and when they at least make an effort, I buy from them. But when there's a 10%/$100 price difference even AFTER their price compromise, I'll mail order from New York any day. If it is something for which I want/need customer service, I buy local. If it is something for which I do not, why waste money?

 

[tlr120]

Will Wolf camera follow. Not that I care that much.

 

[lns]

And the last time anybody here bought something from a REAL camera shop ?

Well ?

I buy film, chemicals and C41 and slide processing monthly from my local store (Helix). They even sell Kodachrome.

The last lens I bought new I bought from them too. They couldn't match B&H prices, which were lower than their cost. I still bought from them. Where possible, I would rather support a local chain that employs people in my community and pays local taxes. It's good for me, too, because it means I have a good place for processing and I can always run in for small purchases without having to plan in advance for mail order. Stories like that of BobNewYork really are true.

-Laura

 

[removed-user-1]

Will Wolf camera follow. Not that I care that much.

As far as I know, Wolf is a part of Ritz, now, in all but name. They use the Ritz Prints branding for their photo finishing and sell Ritz-branded film.

I won't miss them or Ritz if they actually close their stores.

 

[removed-user-1]

trust me.....they aren't.

Even if they did, they'd write these remarks off as "stupid customers."

Last time I was actually in a Wolf Camera, I told the guy I was trying to deal with (who was ignoring me in favor of wiping counters) that I wouldn't be back. He didn't seem to care, he just kept on wiping counters.

I second the motion for hoping they go Chapter 8! Support your local camera stores and just say no to the chain stores!

 

[134k]

And the last time anybody here bought something from a REAL camera shop ?

Well ?

last week at looking glass photo in berkeley, california. bought 2 more packets of d76.

 

[BobNewYork]

IMHO it's a little late for the local guy and not just in photography. Streamlined costs, shareholder returns has left us with a need for the big retailers to be all things to all people. I'm sure if the big box management looked at the cost structure to sales volume of the small guy they'd just laugh their ar**s off at the R.O.I. Of course that doesn't stop them wanting the little guys bread and butter business. It's not long ago that if you went into a specialty store all the staff would be active in that specialty on a personal basis. I know a lot of advanced hobbyists and semi-pros who drive school buses or work as couriers to enable them to pay their bills and have time to do serious photography. In fact, when I had the store, the Qualex delivery guy was a musician and poet, (good at both I might add). Someone mentioned earlier that, in the old days, a printer was a profession and earned a living wage. At 15 cents a print it's kinda difficult to live!

 

[removed-user-1]

I assume this would include all of the Ritz group stores, such as Inkleys(?).

Here is a quote from the article on The Online Photographer:

"Ritz has about 800 photo stores in 40 states, operating as Ritz Camera, Wolf Camera, Kits Cameras, Inkley's and The Camera Shops...."

Sounds to me like it includes all the brick and mortar stores they operate.

 

[removed-user-1]

IMHO it's a little late for the local guy and not just in photography. Streamlined costs, shareholder returns has left us with a need for the big retailers to be all things to all people. I'm sure if the big box management looked at the cost structure to sales volume of the small guy they'd just laugh their ar**s off at the R.O.I. Of course that doesn't stop them wanting the little guys bread and butter business. It's not long ago that if you went into a specialty store all the staff would be active in that specialty on a personal basis. I know a lot of advanced hobbyists and semi-pros who drive school buses or work as couriers to enable them to pay their bills and have time to do serious photography. In fact, when I had the store, the Qualex delivery guy was a musician and poet, (good at both I might add). Someone mentioned earlier that, in the old days, a printer was a profession and earned a living wage. At 15 cents a print it's kinda difficult to live!

All true. I can still hope and dream! There are still some local stores that are doing well, though - Biggs Camera in Charlotte, NC has survived and seems to be thriving, at a time when the other two local stores (Charlotte Camera and Camera World of NC) have both gone under.

 

[removed-user-1]

last week at looking glass photo in berkeley, california. bought 2 more packets of d76.

Used 50mm f/1.4 AF Nikkor bought virtually new from Biggs Camera, last month.

 

[archphoto]

The ones that will survive are the stores that have internet sales aswell, Biggs Camera is good example: they sell even through ebay......
Got a nice RB from them, was sent to Holland cause of PayPal (I'm in Brazil right now) looking forward to it.

Peter

 

[BobNewYork]

I think you're right Peter. My only fear is that the bricks and mortar overheads make internet sales more attractive. If you're the owner of Biggs you're internet sales need no staff, no expensive retail space - and you don't get interruptions from those pesky walk-in customers. Eventually that means we can't run out and pick up a roll of Tri-X on a Saturday because we need it. If we run out we'll have to wait for the mail! My local butcher went out a few years back and told me that everyone went to the supermarket for meat because of the prices, (with which he couldn't compete) so his sales declined to a few pounds of chopped meat on a Saturday because someone ran low at their barbecue! Those sales, plus the few remaining loyal customers weren't enough to live on after overheads. He also told me about the abusive comments when he announced the closing - mainly from people who may be inconvenienced. And, as he said "those were all "Chopped Meat Charlies" anyway! Some were apparently quite incensed that he was working for a living - not for their convenience!!

 

[jd callow]

IMHO it's a little late for the local guy and not just in photography. Streamlined costs, shareholder returns has left us with a need for the big retailers to be all things to all people. I'm sure if the big box management looked at the cost structure to sales volume of the small guy they'd just laugh their ar**s off at the R.O.I. Of course that doesn't stop them wanting the little guys bread and butter business. It's not long ago that if you went into a specialty store all the staff would be active in that specialty on a personal basis. I know a lot of advanced hobbyists and semi-pros who drive school buses or work as couriers to enable them to pay their bills and have time to do serious photography. In fact, when I had the store, the Qualex delivery guy was a musician and poet, (good at both I might add). Someone mentioned earlier that, in the old days, a printer was a profession and earned a living wage. At 15 cents a print it's kinda difficult to live!

About 10 years ago a large grocer invested in a start up that intended to build a system where people would go online order their groceries and the store would deliver to their home. They did a cost analysis and found that it was cheaper for them to wharehouse the food and deliver it than to maintane a store front. The start up failed, but their analysis still seems to be true as seen by B&H, Newegg, Amazon, etc...

The idea of the big box and Wal mart is in part economy of scale, but it's also to remove the expensive labour and a minimization of the store front. The better hardware, photo, electronic's and many of the other specialty and semi-specialty stores had higher paid, better skilled and knowledgable staff. The wal marts and big box stores often have well trained staff, but they are not experts about the product they sell and not well paid.

 

[BobNewYork]

True JD - well trained to be poorly paid and inexpert in the products. I've called it "The Ascendancy of the Shareholder" where nothing ele matters but that the shareholder returns are maximized. What ever happened to just making a decent living?!?!

 

[removed-user-1]

The ones that will survive are the stores that have internet sales aswell, Biggs Camera is good example: they sell even through ebay......

Hello Peter!

I'm glad that Biggs is doing eBay sales. I bought my first real camera there almost 20 years ago, a Nikon F.