2009.02.24
Ritz Camera files for bankruptcy
When is the last time that you developed picture film from your camera? It's probably been awhile.
Losses as a result of the digital photography age and economic pressures forced Ritz Camera to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Sunday. Known as the largest photography retailer in the United States, Ritz apparently is losing business throughout its core categories, including camera sales, photo processing and at the Boater's World Marine Centers, which it operates. That's according to this Washington Post story.
At this point, we don't know if Ritz will be closing any of its stores nationwide. In our region, Ritz has two stores in Roanoke and one in Blacksburg.
I haven't developed film in probably 5 years now. I've used a digital camera since 1999, though we do own an SLR 35mm camera. We've got some rolls of film that need to be developed, but the cost for doing so has been high enough that we haven't bothered. We have gotten some digital prints made at Wal-Mart and through Kodak's online system, and those came out just as good as film prints. As technology changes, any business that does not restructure their model to fit the new technology or times will be doomed for failure. Plus, with the advent of home printers that can do very good 3x5 and 4x6 prints that are definite photo quality, most people seem to opt for the rare store-made prints but do their own or just e-mail pictures now. Some enthusiasts still stick with film, but their numbers have to be dwindling as digital is the new medium, and digital cameras with comparable quality to a 35mm camera are widely available and dirt cheap to use.
Comment by Other John — February 24, 2009 @ 11:31 am
gone the way of the buggy whip factories!
Comment by josiah p. — February 24, 2009 @ 11:49 am
I had some prints made at Christmas time at the location near Towers, the attitudes of some of the employees was really a major turn-off.
Comment by Kimberly — February 24, 2009 @ 3:43 pm
It's amazing how much the attitude of an employee will influence a customer's decision on whether or not to patronize a business in the future, isn't it? I know this is completely off subject, but I have definitely made decisions on where to buy and what brands to buy based on the attitudes of people I have interacted with. For one example, I was a major devotee to a computer company X (names will remain absent) who prided themselves on great products and service. I have no qualms with the equipment, only one part failure in 11 years and it was a hard drive that they replaced for free out of warranty (though it took a long of back and forth to get it done). I will now buy from another company Y because of the service though. I got the run around on the hardware fix from company X, and also had some other bad experiences with their support for a friend's computer. We bought a laptop from company Y and had a small problem right after we got it out of the box. Turned out it was only a software setting that needed adjusting, but we called their service folks and they helped us work through it. 2 days later one of their service managers called to see if we had resolved the issue to our satisfaction, which we had. We were so highly impressed by that and the other interactions we've had that we are only buying from that company now, because from an equipment hardware standpoint, both companies are nearly identical.
Comment by Other John — February 24, 2009 @ 4:09 pm
John,
I agree with you with the costs of printing 35mm film.
Just in case, I wanted to mention that every now and then Walgreens runs promotional Buy One Get One printing of 35mm film.
If I remember correctly, it was about $5 to process a roll. A considerable savings with their promo.
Comment by Anonymous — February 25, 2009 @ 6:31 am
Thanks for that tip. The next time I see that promotion running, I'll take care of those dust-collecting rolls of film and see what's on them. I drive past a Wal-green's twice daily, so I ought to see some sort of info on it the next time they do it.
Comment by Other John — February 25, 2009 @ 9:51 am
The Ritz at New River Mall has closed.
Comment by Danny — February 25, 2009 @ 9:55 am
I have no sympathy for Ritz Camera. I was treated very rudely by the Colonial Avenue store salesman and the manager. Do people really think that they can maintain a business with behavior like that?
Comment by Anne Baranauskas — February 28, 2009 @ 5:29 am