Akron camera store closing down

[bmattock]

Just an FYI, sorry to see another camera store go. Click on the link for the whole story.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

fStop Photography Closing - Click Here for News Story

Posted on Thu, Dec. 15, 2005
Akron camera store closing down
fStop fading out of picture
Owner says shop can't compete in age of digital photography
By Julia Marino
Beacon Journal business writer

Digital photography and competition from discount stores have combined to kill a well-known camera store in Akron.

fStop, known as one of the first camera stores in the country to put its processing lab on site, is closing Dec. 31. The new year will mark the end of 35 years in business for owner Margaret Albert.

The store has a reputation for quality service and advanced technology, but it just couldn't compete with the demands of the digital age, Albert said.

``This isn't just happening here or in Ohio; it's happening all over the country.

 

[ch1]

Yes, I think that the small, specialty camera store is going the way of the dodo. As the article notes, they just cannot compete with the big boxes in a digital age except perhaps in high-traffic areas where they can get cash flow from the kiosk print services.

Even here in NYC some of the big guys are "evolving" to survive. If you listen to B&H ads on the radio nowadays - they mainly tout there "electronic products" including HDTVs and I-Pods?

They are feeling the "heat" with Best Buy now in NYC. It certainly isn't your "camera store" of old.

Mail order will become the way to go in the future.

 

[darkkavenger]

Digital makes people's life easier, but to me it strips photography from its very soul, and leaves workers unemployed.

 

[Kragmeister]

Luckly the shop I deal with, Fisk Camera in Easton PA is still going strong. They've been around since before WWII and are a third generation family operation. Bill Sr. there says that they are the oldest continuously operating camera shop in the Eastern USA. They've upgraded their processing equipment and off the the usual assortment of analog darkroom stuff but have transitioned to digital. I've had them make prints from TIFF files from scanned negs, and have had enlargments done direct from negs. They do good stuff and I'm hoping that Bill Jr. can keep up.

Later,
Greg

 

[Solinar]

Is there even a full-line photography retailer in beautiful Wilson, North Carolina?

The reason I ask is it seems that the Walmartization of retailing hit the small towns long before it reached large urban areas.

Locally, one of my locally owned photo stores has lines of people at the counters, while the other which is smaller does not. Interestingly, the local Ritz operated stores don't seem to be all that busy.

 

[Scarpia]

The great management guru Peter Drucker who died last month once did a consulting job for a company. At the first session he asked what business they were in. They were taken aback as they thought that he should already have known that, but politely replied that they made bottles for beer and soda. "Ah" said Drucker, "so you are in the packaging business". Of course he knew what business they were in; he was trying to get them to see their business from a wider perspective. Keep in mind that the majority of the population are neither photography professionals or hobbyists. Photography for them consists of taking and showing pictures of family, vacation trips, etc. What business category would that be? Well, home entertainment is probably as good as any. Therefore, the sale of home entertainment gear by traditional photography retailers makes sense.
Where i spend my summers in upstate New York there is a traditional photography retailer that has been there for 80 years, Ray Supply. They do development of 35mm and 120 and probably LF on site. Originally located in downtown Glens Falls, they moved some years ago to a retail cluster on route 9 in nearby Queensbury. As luck would have it a gigantic Wal-Mart moved in right next to them. They still survive and they feature home entertainment gear considerably better and more expensive than Wal-Mart. They also sell digital and film cameras at list price, but offer a level of service and follow up much greater than Wal-Mart. Will they survive? I don't know but their small parking lot is usually pretty full.
Kurt M.

 

[ch1]

Where i spend my summers in upstate New York there is a traditional photography retailer that has been there for 80 years, Ray Supply. They do development of 35mm and 120 and probably LF on site. Originally located in downtown Glens Falls, they moved some years ago to a retail cluster on route 9 in nearby Queensbury. As luck would have it a gigantic Wal-Mart moved in right next to them. They still survive and they feature home entertainment gear considerably better and more expensive than Wal-Mart. They also sell digital and film cameras at list price, but offer a level of service and follow up much greater than Wal-Mart. Will they survive? I don't know but their small parking lot is usually pretty full.
Kurt M.

It's nice to hear that a small-timer who specializes in SERVICE can surive and thrive even with the "big boys" in his backyard. So long as there exists a sufficient "cadre" of photography enthusiasts places like Ray Supply have a fighting chance. The key for them is to not try and compete with the WalMarts for the "commodity business" but to build solid reputation as a provider of "professionall-level services".

Good for them - and good for you!

 

[r-brian]

Kurt's Camera Corral here in Albuquerque closed one of their three locations recently, the store across the street from the mall. Lack of business was one reason but also the lack of competent sales persons. The old time salesperson retired and they could not find a replacement. They were only running that store with 2 people. In this day and age, it's hard for the sales person to make a living. I had worked at Kurt's for a few months when I first moved to ABQ but there was no way I could make a living selling cameras.

Brian