What do you do when you”™ve built your business model on an industry that is as changeable as the day”™s inventory?
For the brick-and-mortar camera shop, the Internet and ever-steady crop of makes and models has led to an evolution of the retail segment as a whole.
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“When you look at the landscape, there aren”™t a lot of camera stores left because you have big box retailers and core New York City stores like B&H,” said Richard Restiano Sr., co-owner of Arista Camera and Imaging in Bronxville. “I looked at this business and said the opportunity is not in the hardware. It”™s in helping people move from film to digital.”
Restiano worked for 20 years as a professional photographer and spent more than a decade in marketing for Olan Mills.
In 1985, he bought Arista Camera, which had long been supported by “nuts and bolts people,” of which the buying and selling of film was the core business.
“Now we”™re saying, ”˜Here”™s your camera, have a good time.”™ The whole digital thing has really opened an opportunity for a store like us to be more of the mentor. We do more talking and showing and demo-ing. The camera sales are minimal, but the whole printing, teaching classes and showing people how to download content ”¦ has been reinvented.”
Though the older generation may be more acquainted with film, they still want to print images and display them in frames; their grandchildren want to create slideshows on their social networks.
Restiano and partner Manny Parks rebranded the store as Arista Camera and Imaging to reflect its Apple-like appeal with interactive, self-service kiosks and virtual store by-way-of-eBay, a resting ground for customers”™ old cameras.
Like Restiano, other brick-and-mortar mainstays have turned their largest competitors into business opportunities.
“There is definitely an impact coming from the Internet, but big stores like Costco help us in a way,” said Anja Porto, who has co-owned Rye Camera Shop with husband, Rob, for 17 years. “People buy cameras and end up needing help with them and they come to us, which is one thing that has boosted business. Camera sales have been about the same.”
Though the consumer may not think to stop in downtown Rye and Bronxville to pick up the latest Nikon Coolpix, Porto said that in this business, you must be “up front and honest and willing to help.”
Restiano said a major learning curve is coming from the digital camera”™s multipurpose functionality.
Most models now shoot high-definition video, which can leave even the most tech-savvy consumer asking, “Can I save to a computer and how do I make a DVD?”
“We have to be much more proactive (as business owners)” Restiano said. “Cameras can now offer a mash-up of music clips, video and pictures and you have the ability to have stills, voice and video all together.”
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