Ritz Cameras reorganizing

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karthiks

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Found this in the news today - http://www.businesswire.com/portal/...d=news_view&newsId=20090402006348&newsLang=en

From the news item - Ritz Camera Centers, Inc., the nation’s largest specialty camera and image products and accessories retailer, announced today that it will close more than 300 stores nationwide as part of a court-supervised bankruptcy reorganization. The move will leave approximately 400 Ritz Camera stores still open around the country.
 
Apparently, they also left Nikon and Canon holding the bag with huge credits on unsold cameras from each.

And that was the reason for the recent rise in Nikon prices.

Talk about domino effect... 🙁

Thanks for the update! 😉
 
wow, i remember shopping there in milwaukee all the time. they were always so nice pushing canon and nikon products on me.
 
I think I might head over & see if I can help clean out some cheap film if there is any to be had. I pretty much cleaned out the stash at a location in Charlotte that is not on the list for closure. IMO when you go into a camera store & you ask if they have any of the new Ektar 100 from Kadak & they look at you like....ah...sorry I haven't heard of it maybe it's time to close the doors!
 
Only thing I will feel bad about is the people losing their jobs. Even the dumb brunette at one of the stores that told me last summer that they don't even make 100 asa film anymore.
 
I'm shocked. Up here in OZ-North (the North Shore of Chicago) we have two stores within a few miles of each other and neither is on the list! They must be successfully pulling in the printing business for all those soccer moms and scrap-bookers. Good for them. I wonder how much customer loyalty could they measure or perhaps the managers paid off someone (this is Chicago after all!) or .....

I wish I had cash coming in, it might be a perfect time to get a D60 demo for reasonable.

B2 (;->
 
gb hill said:
Only thing I will feel bad about is the people losing their jobs. Even the dumb brunette at one of the stores that told me last summer that they don't even make 100 asa film anymore.
Click to expand...

These are not really camera stores the way we knew them. There are a few still around but most of the small stores have been pushed out by BestBuy, Sams, Walmart, Costco and others mass marketing the same DSLR or P&S at a lower price than they could buy it for. You run into a smart person from time to time but most have moved on and the stores that are there are not training or rewarding self learning about stuff any more.

While you may not need a weatherman to see how the world is changing, we've gone down a dark tunnel as we strive for more profit at the expense of everything else. I'm hoping that while we will spend a few years groping around the in dark, we will find our way to a better place.

B2 (;->
 
I for one do not see these guys as a loss...jobs lost is always bad. But they were not really interested in providing high quality service. It was a kind of place where they would say...if it's not on the shelf I guess we do not carry it any more?? Or they would say...no one ever buys film. Forget trying to buy a filter. No these guys were destined to fade..Iam surprised it took so long.
 
The one near where I live is closing. They sold junk and did a terrible job of processing chromogenic film. Seemed to be staffed with high-school kids. Feel bad for the kids but the store is no loss.
 
I've been shopping at Ritz for a longtime, and they employ a lot of young adults working through college and freshly graduated. Most that I've met have a real interest in photography and cameras.

But I believe the chain over-extended themselves by buying up smaller chains and individual shops. Just too many stores, they were competing with themselves.

The one that I've shopped at since the 80s looks like it is closing. They are idiots to close it, it's always busy.
 
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They're closing the one nearest my house. Fortunately, the one a few miles away has the one girl who knows how to process 120 film. Hopefully she'll keep her job.
I think I'll pay them a visit and praise her in front of her boss (again).
 
Didn't they file for bankruptcy a while back? I could have sworn I saw a news article on it - this does not surprise me though as I am under the same impression that Brian is - they over-extended themselves.

Dave
 
This isn't Chapter 7 liquidation and out of business. The title on the original post is misleading.

This is a scaling back of the operation and closing a number of stores that don't turn a profit or maybe don't turn enough profit.

As the news release says:

"... it will close more than 300 stores nationwide as part of a court-supervised bankruptcy reorganization. The move will leave approximately 400 Ritz Camera stores still open around the country."​
 
Quite true. I think my English is going to the dogs. Hope one of the mods can change the title to reflect the intention of my sharing this news. 😱

ZeissFan said:
This isn't Chapter 7 liquidation and out of business. The title on the original post is misleading.

This is a scaling back of the operation and closing a number of stores that don't turn a profit or maybe don't turn enough profit.

As the news release says:

"... it will close more than 300 stores nationwide as part of a court-supervised bankruptcy reorganization. The move will leave approximately 400 Ritz Camera stores still open around the country."​
Click to expand...
 
BillBingham2 said:
I'm shocked. Up here in OZ-North (the North Shore of Chicago) we have two stores within a few miles of each other and neither is on the list! They must be successfully pulling in the printing business for all those soccer moms and scrap-bookers. Good for them. I wonder how much customer loyalty could they measure or perhaps the managers paid off someone (this is Chicago after all!) or .....

I wish I had cash coming in, it might be a perfect time to get a D60 demo for reasonable.

B2 (;->
Click to expand...

Reporting in from the far western suburbs of the windy city where there are also two stores within two miles of each other. Neither of them are on the list of closing stores either, but the one traditional camera store within 15 miles of my house closed on Tuesday, which really sucks.
 
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