Grand Opening

[Shadowman]

I know nothing about this place, never been to Fort Worth but was watching a YouTube video and host mentioned that this company was having a grand opening. Pretty cool with so many camera stores closing these days. Has anyone seen a camera grand opening in their area lately. Not me, just had a recent closing.

By the way, only one location is new, the other had already been established. Also, when vacationing do you pop in to local camera stores or do you feel that some are just tourist traps.

https://www.fortworthcamera.com/

[IzzieK]

No grand opening for me yet, but we have a camera store that caters to the same services around our area, from hardwares (camera, tripods, et) to rentals, classes, calling cards, etc. I haven't been to a closing either, only fabric stores because I want some fixtures.

[rpcrowe]

We had a Calumet Camera chain store go belly-up about ten minutes drive from my house. However, a San Diego store, George's Camera, recently opened a second store which is only about a half hour from where I live. It is a very large, full service store with a big rental department. It even has a classroom where various events are held, such as Canon Seminars...

[Shadowman]

We had a Calumet Camera chain store go belly-up about ten minutes drive from my house. However, a San Diego store, George's Camera, recently opened a second store which is only about a half hour from where I live. It is a very large, full service store with a big rental department. It even has a classroom where various events are held, such as Canon Seminars...

I wonder what other factors go into opening a camera store, can't be just population but perhaps closeness to some attraction, nearby cities that could also frequent the area, either the lack of photography schools or popularity of photography schools?

[Mike Buckley]

I've not heard of any new stores opening in my area but a small store very near my home that was decades old was bought by a competitor that has the reputation for the most inventory now that the Calumet stores closed a couple years ago. It was good to see that though the store is small, the acquiring company invested considerably in upgrading the quality of the store with better shelving, more organized display areas and a significantly larger inventory of take-away products such as camera bags and other accessories.

My wife and I rarely shop for anything other than food while on vacation, so we would never go into a photography store at that time. If I was conveniently within a few blocks of one of the famous New York City stores, I might venture in to see if they really live up to their reputation. But I wouldn't take the time to shop for anything.

[Shadowman]

I've not heard of any new stores opening in my area but a small store very near my home that was decades old was bought by a competitor that has the reputation for the most inventory now that the Calumet stores closed a couple years ago. It was good to see that though the store is small, the acquiring company invested considerably in upgrading the quality of the store with better shelving, more organized display areas and a significantly larger inventory of take-away products such as camera bags and other accessories.

My wife and I rarely shop for anything other than food while on vacation, so we would never go into a photography store at that time. If I was conveniently within a few blocks of one of the famous New York City stores, I might venture in to see if they really live up to their reputation. But I wouldn't take the time to shop for anything.

The few times that I did venture into a store it was to buy accessories, once a mini tripod and the other a cpl and teleconverter.

[rpcrowe]

I wonder what other factors go into opening a camera store, can't be just population but perhaps closeness to some attraction, nearby cities that could also frequent the area, either the lack of photography schools or popularity of photography schools?

Demographics might have an impact on the viability of a brick and mortar store.

Although my address is Escondido, California, I do not live in the City or Escondido, rather in the surrounding unincorporated area of the county. The City of Escondido itself, once made a decision to allow developers to build vast numbers of rental apartments. As a result the City has attracted large numbers of lower income individuals.

I have researched the local areas before we decided where to have our dog rescue events. We did not want to locate our events in a very low income area in which the residents would probably not have the money for vet care of their dogs. As a result, we do rescue events in two pet supply stores, one about twenty miles from Escondido and the other about 30 miles away. Each of these ZIP codes has a per capita income of over three times that of the City of Escondido.

Photography is a relatively expensive hobby and many medium to low income folks will get their photo gear from places like Walmart, rather than the standard brick and mortar photo supply store. (I am not downgrading Walmart - I just shopped there this morning).

[Shadowman]

Demographics might have an impact on the viability of a brick and mortar store.

Although my address is Escondido, California, I do not live in the City or Escondido, rather in the surrounding unincorporated area of the county. The City of Escondido itself, once made a decision to allow developers to build vast numbers of rental apartments. As a result the City has attracted large numbers of lower income individuals.

I have researched the local areas before we decided where to have our dog rescue events. We did not want to locate our events in a very low income area in which the residents would probably not have the money for vet care of their dogs. As a result, we do rescue events in two pet supply stores, one about twenty miles from Escondido and the other about 30 miles away. Each of these ZIP codes has a per capita income of over three times that of the City of Escondido.

Photography is a relatively expensive hobby and many medium to low income folks will get their photo gear from places like Walmart, rather than the standard brick and mortar photo supply store. (I am not downgrading Walmart - I just shopped there this morning).

Plus you are close to San Diego, so the George's store location possibly reflects a tri-city nexus for potential customers.

[Moonliterider]

Precision Camera here in Austin is amazing and they've been here for a long time. If it's photography related,it's at Precision. They have a large variety of ever-changing classes. Very experienced staff as well. Love the place!

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

[Shadowman]

Precision Camera here in Austin is amazing and they've been here for a long time. If it's photography related,it's at Precision. They have a large variety of ever-changing classes. Very experienced staff as well. Love the place!

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

Nice sized population there, I can see why the photography community would be supportive of the industry.