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Another Big Camera Store Fails:

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robgendreau said:
I've watched B&H adapt over the years, while others, like Ritz, didn't. So RIP. Maybe Henry can let us know how B&H is doing, but given they are hear, and I've never heard of Showcase, that should tell you all you need to hear.

--
“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.”
— Edgar Degas
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B&H are extremely good at what they do. That does not happen by accident. I am sure the owners and managers are juggling a lot of chainsaws to maintain their position and competitive edge in a brutal marketplace where few survive more than one misstep.

They have exploited their large visible brick and mortar location with an online presence that covers the whole of North America. Love 'em, or hate 'em, there are few who do not know who they are.

Sure they have their detractors, and a couple may not be able to resist showing up on this thread before it finishes.

I stumbled on them nearly 20 years ago following my first attempt to buy a digital camera online. Unfortunately, I ran afoul of the Brooklyn shysters who were prominent then and was taken to the cleaners. Still waiting for their promised RMA to return the overpriced items that I did not order, but were sent to me and charged to my visa. :-(

rs
 
Have to say, I'm no big help. I gave up buying the best and the brightest many years ago and now I only buy well used - makes me a parasite on the industry I guess. I'm never willing to pay the inflated prices of the newest and greatest - an exciting new camera announcement makes me think that I might have a great camera in my hands in several years.... I never buy used from the B&M stores either; they mark things up shamelessly.
 
digitallollygag said:
I think cameras are now regarded as "consumables" instead of "cameras", and this has perpetuated the problem. I remember in the early '90s witnessing a walk-in customer proudly leaving a Phoenix camera store with a high-end Contax 35mm camera he paid top dollar for. You just don't have that mindset with consumers regarding "consumables" nowadays. Low margins many times are the name of the game when things are regarded as throwaways.
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Wealth inequality is at a record all over the world. Poor people can't buy expensive cameras, and the rich can only buy so many. When you don't have a middle class, you kill the biggest market for good like cars, computers, houses, cameras, and other "shopping" goods.
 
ecm said:
Have to say, I'm no big help. I gave up buying the best and the brightest many years ago and now I only buy well used - makes me a parasite on the industry I guess. I'm never willing to pay the inflated prices of the newest and greatest - an exciting new camera announcement makes me think that I might have a great camera in my hands in several years.... I never buy used from the B&M stores either; they mark things up shamelessly.
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Showcase was a nice store - shopped there once when I was in Atlanta. For years I drove by, but never stopped in again. Nice place, but why pay extra. As the manager stated, I did not value their expertise. I have been doing photography for over 40 years. With the internet I can do a lot of research and judge different opinions. Going to a store its hard to know the sales persons bias and real level of knowledge. Why pay extra, for something I don't need. I can compare prices on-line and get the best deal from a reputable reseller.

I don't buy the excuse for not competing on-line. Internet selling has been around for 20 years. They just ignored it until they were so late to the game the costs were too high. All companies have to understand the concept of "Who moved my cheese". Change is a constant in every industry. Failure to understand what is happening in a market it killer.

In the city (not big) where I live in 20 years ago there were several f photo stores. I just moved back here after being gone 10 years. Today, amazingly there is still one small chain. Why, because 18 years ago they started going digital. All of their sales people and techs were trained in digital. They started advertising digital printing and conversion services. They are actually a small chain of three stores (in neighboring towns). They remodeled to be more digital friendly. The other stores in town laughed at digital and would make jokes when photographers like myself who were experimenting with digital would come in their stores. Those stores are long gone - were all gone before I moved. The small chain is still here.
 
Eamon Hickey said:
techjedi said:
I think because the bill in question requires sellers in non-GA states to collect tax for buyers from GA. This would require some federal enforcement I believe.
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Yes, it's a very thorny issue in the federal system of the United States (the word 'federal' used here in the sense meaning that many government powers are not vested in the national government but instead are vested in regional governments [i.e. the states]).
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The US Constitution does not grant States unlimited power in the "use tax" (interstate sales tax) collection area.

Cornell University Law School – text of the US Supreme Court ruling in Quill Corp v. North Dakota
 
sportyaccordy said:
Manufacturers are shooting themselves in the feet. They got too greedy with volume. Should have stretched it out and put less pressure on retailers.

Note how CIPA documents shipments and not consumer sales. In other words as long as manufacturers can get retailers to buy cameras they wash their hands and please investors. But the reality as at the consumer level people are not buying a lot of these cameras. This is why they keep coming back as "refurbished" or whatever.

I think the secondhand market is also a big factor. I don't see an outfit like KEH going anywhere. There will always be that churn. It's sad because retailers like this are the ones getting burnt for the poor decisions of the manufacturers.
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In the days of film, the profits the stores made from used equipment was much higher than from new. The demand for used cameras must be much lower today. It may rise as the technology reaches a plateau.

Film developing and printing were a major source of income, now gone.
 
One of two remaining camera stores in my city has good selection of Canon/Nikon/Sony/Fuji, etc., bodies, lenses, pro gear, printing supplies, tripods, bags, etc. - everything you would find in a good camera store.

How they stay in business? Diversification - they have a jewelry / watch department, TVs, Hi-Fi and home theater equipment, major and small appliances / installation service, firearms and hunting gear, etc. (Ra-Lin in Syracuse, NY).

Another camera store, just a couple of blocks from them, that was specialized mostly in Nikon, closed their doors couple of years ago.
 
ecm said:
Have to say, I'm no big help. I gave up buying the best and the brightest many years ago and now I only buy well used - makes me a parasite on the industry I guess. I'm never willing to pay the inflated prices of the newest and greatest - an exciting new camera announcement makes me think that I might have a great camera in my hands in several years.... I never buy used from the B&M stores either; they mark things up shamelessly.
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..they blamed your company for not collecting taxes and part of the reason they had to close! WoW, just Wow!

“Amazon is not my major competitor,” says Khoury. “My major competitor is New York.”
 
braysghost said:
..they blamed your company for not collecting taxes and part of the reason they had to close! WoW, just Wow!

“Amazon is not my major competitor,” says Khoury. “My major competitor is New York.”
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I was surprised that he was calling attention to an article that basically blames B&H for brick & mortar troubles or.... maybe he intended to call attention to the threat of unconstitutional taxation.
 
Rick Knepper said:
braysghost said:
..they blamed your company for not collecting taxes and part of the reason they had to close! WoW, just Wow!

“Amazon is not my major competitor,” says Khoury. “My major competitor is New York.”
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I was surprised that he was calling attention to an article that basically blames B&H for brick & mortar troubles or.... maybe he intended to call attention to the threat of unconstitutional taxation.

--
Once you've done fifty, everything else is iffy.
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I have to say I was guilty of buying from Amazon until they started tax in my state. But I am lucky enough to have MPEX in driving range. I now buy from them again since they are now the same price.
 
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Interesting read, although I have to admit a lot of it is something anyone who has purchased a camera in the last few years would already know. This makes it surprising that there are still some big box major retailers that are still doing very well despite collecting state taxes (a particular brick and mortar national chain has seen profits rise dramatically YoY over the last few).
 
A couple of things; first, with You Tube and other 'net based venues, it's much easier to do research if you're willing to wade through the chaff. Second, convenience. It's much easier for me to look around B&H's site than it is to shuffle around a camera shop. Yes, I can touch stuff at the shop, but in my case and I'm sure in most cases here, we pretty much know what we like. I don't need to go to a camera shop to know that I want a 5DsR and a 600mm f4L. :-) So it's easier to make few clicks and wait for the UPS guy to show up.

David
 
digitallollygag said:
I think cameras are now regarded as "consumables" instead of "cameras", and this has perpetuated the problem. I remember in the early '90s witnessing a walk-in customer proudly leaving a Phoenix camera store with a high-end Contax 35mm camera he paid top dollar for. You just don't have that mindset with consumers regarding "consumables" nowadays. Low margins many times are the name of the game when things are regarded as throwaways.
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That's the difference between an analog and a digital body. The digital one is essentially a specialized computer. Computing technology is still in an advancement phase. So they age (rather quickly). They ARE currently rather disposable. Just like smartphones, laptops, and desktop computers are disposable too.

Another issue, with camera stores failing, that hasn't been mentioned -- Not everyone likes the touchy feely spend an hour with a floor clerk experience. I hate being sold to. I walk out of the stores where the sales clerks are aggressive. I like to walk into a store, try out the product, and be left alone. If I am happy with the product I will buy. If I am unhappy with the product I set it down. No hassle. Having someone tethered to me and trying to sell all the features of the product is so uncomfortable and annoying. If I have a question I can find the salesman.

This is another reason why online is so much better for me. I can do a decent amount of research on my own then shop around online for the best price and return policy... with no attachment to the clingy/aggressive sales clerks. Pretending to be my friend to take my money is not really a friendship. If money is involved and our interaction is only inside of the store, there likely is no friendship; You're a retailer and I am a customer. Let's be honest about that.
 
I'm a used buyer too, mostly, but I've gotten some very nice secondhand gear from brick and mortar stores, at at least decent prices. True bargains at rock bottom prices are too risky for me--they involve buying as-is from potentially dishonest sellers at a distance. I know a lot of people who have gotten ripped off in various ways.

For a slightly higher price, you can buy from reliable online dealers with generous return policies, and I've found that with a bit of haggling that I can often get similar prices at stores-- and try out the gear in person, including putting lenses on my own cameras.
 
Tom_N said:
The US Constitution does not grant States unlimited power in the "use tax" (interstate sales tax) collection area.

Cornell University Law School – text of the US Supreme Court ruling in Quill Corp v. North Dakota
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Thanks for the interesting link -- a good read.

When I said it was a "thorny" issue I didn't mean to imply that it was only a Constitutional issue, or that the Constitution was clear one way or the other about it. I just meant that there were was a tangle of competing principles and parties involved in it.

Still, the Quill case that you cited makes it clear that the Supreme Court believed in 1992 that Congress has the power to pass a law to allow and/or require states to collect each other's sales (use) taxes. Obviously, Congress has not done that -- it being thorny and all -- but I did not know that the Supreme Court had essentially invited them to do so.

Thanks again for the good info.
 
Some figures to start with:
- in the peak year 2010, no less than 121 million dedicated cameras were sold. Last year, it was closer to 20m. About 6 TIMES less.
- in 2015, about 97% of all cameras sold, were those on Smartphones. They accounted for an even bigger shares of photos that were taken, uploaded, and shared. In 2016, the figure was closer to 98%.
- DSLRs and mirrorless are NOT saving the party. They peaked at 21m units in 2012, and were below 11m units last year. That's HALF. Within this, mirrorless has stayed just over 3m units for the past 4 years, i.e. no growth, while DSLRs continued to shrink.

Needless to say, revenues came down roughly in line with units - a bit less so, due to attempts to move upmarket a bit.

Needless to say, retailers had extended their Photo space massively on the run to the peak. Non-dedicated retailers had flexibility to adjust in-store space. Dedicated photo retailers had no choice.

I'm not sure why anyone would be surprised that dedicated photo retailers should fail.

Will they ALL disappear? Hopefully not! In theory you can still make money off 10-11m ILC units, plus accessories and lenses. BUT:
- one worrying demographic, is that the younger generations couldn't care less about big, dedicated cameras. They have grown with Smartphones, and don't see why they should lug a big heavy beast that will be inferior to their Smartphone in many ways (even if it delivers better very high ISO).
- and one worrying development (for ILCs, not from my point of view), is that pretty soon all smartphones will have dual or triple imaging modules, will deliver very solid IQ, and will be able to zoom either virtually, or perhaps even thanks to actual optical zooms.



henryp said:
Another Big Camera Store Fails: Why Are So Many Closing?

Some informative insights here IMO

--
Henry Posner
B&H Photo-Video
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I live in Canada where the Canadian dollar is worth roughly 75 cents US. I also buy way too much photo stuff as that is my main hobby. However, even with the weak Canadian dollar I still check with B&H to compare prices with local camera stores. And, there are times, when even allowing for currency exchange, it is still cheaper for me to order from B&H and that's what I do. So, I expect that high volume stores like B&H will be the benchmark against which local stores will be judged and I am not sure how many of these stores can drive the volume necessary to be competitive in a shrinking market. I also notice that B&H have branched out into audio equipment and other non photo stuff and I can't see many regular camera stores carrying and financing such a wide mix of inventory.
 
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