Industry Notes for the week of Jan. 10

GaryPageau

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Framen acquired by Axel Springer

Visual 1st reports German digital frame startup Framen has been acquired by multimedia giant Axel Springer. Hans Hartman shares how the company, led by CEO Dimitri Gärtner, pivoted from a digital frames/photo viewing business to an online advertising platform.

Former Ritz Camera headquarters building sells for $15.685 million

Commercial real-estate firm Edge Tuesday announced it brokered the sale of 12200 Baltimore Ave., a 106,000-square-foot building in Beltsville that once housed the corporate headquarters for Ritz Camera, for $15.685 million, according to The Daily Record.

BestPhotoList closes after more than two decades

BestPhotoList, the long-time industry listserv, shut down this week as Yahoo! – the service which housed BPL during its 20+ year life – shut down all groups. Kudos to Dr. Robert Banasik for launching BPL and to the hundreds of photo industry members who contributed tips, tricks and valuable info.

105-year-old retailer Michaels Camera closing

Melbourne, Australia’s Michaels Camera is shutting down, bringing to a close 105 years of retailing for the Michaels family, due to an 80-percent drop in sales due to COVID-19, according to Inside Imaging. The Michaels family has operated a variety of businesses, including gunsmiths and pharmacy, on the site since 1916. By 1976, the company focused exclusively on photography. The camera store also included a large camera museum.

GotPhoto to attend Imaging USA, SPAC virtual events

GotPhoto will be attending Imaging USA on Jan. 17-19 and SPAC on Jan. 27-30, 2021. Stop by their trade show both to attend free knowledge exchanges with expert volume photographers, enter a special raffle giveaway, or chat with the GotPhoto team!

All booth visitors will receive a free three-month QuickComposite license. QuickComposite is a tool to creating unique class composite images that parents and schools love. GotPhoto will also be sponsoring several volume photography-related talks over the course of both events. This is a great opportunity to expand your knowledge base and get ideas on how you can succeed even more with your business.

Special offer for SPAC attendees only: If you attend a GotPhoto demo during this event, you will receive a $50 B&H voucher. Special offer for Imaging USA attendees only: If you attend a GotPhoto demo during Imaging USA, you will receive a $50 GotPhoto credit.

Kodak film plant tour, courtesy of StudioC-41

The Studio C-41 film photography podcast recently ventured to Rochester, N.Y. to tour Eastman Kodak Co.’s film-making plant. The video tour is here.

People on the Move

EyeQ announced Steven Berrebi has joined the company as the Director of Sales.

In Memoriam

Dr. Klaus Petersen, 88, former owner of Obergassner photo wholesale business and the long-time director, European activities, Photo Marketing Association International (PMA), passed away  Dec. 27, 2020, at his home in Munich, Germany.
Harry D. Loyle, former president and CEO of Moto Photo, passed away at age 67. After buying his first camera store in 1974, he later joined Moto Photo Inc. in the mid-1980s as a franchisee. He was CEO of MOTO Franchise Corp. and was later active in private equity with numerous firms.

Written by 

Gary Pageau is principal of InfoCircle LLC, continuing his marketing communications career. InfoCircle LLC is a marketing and communications consulting firm, specializing in business-to-business markets. For nearly 25 years, he was with PMA International, serving most recently as Publisher, Content Development and Strategic Initiatives. His primary responsibilities included overseeing the Association’s editorial department, marketing research unit, education and corporate relations department.