Q&A
the up-to-date news snippets. Q12) What’s next for your
Q5) What is your preferred shop?
product to sell and why? Overhauling the shop window
Binoculars and Scopes. It’s a this Easter.
margin thing. Q13) Funniest/most
TIM STAVRINOU, MANAGING
Q6) How do you promote embarrassing moment in
DIRECTOR, KINGSLEY
your business? store?
PHOTOGRAPHIC, LONDON
Magazine advertising and word We arranged for my Father to be
Q1) How long have you of mouth. secretly fi lmed for the TV show
worked in retail? 22 years Q7) What aspects of your ‘Balls of Steel’. The actor posed
Q2) How has business job do you enjoy the most? as an annoying customer with a Year’s resolution and have
changed over the last six Talking to customers. I’m just a chip on his shoulder but my Dad you broken it yet?
months? shop assistant at heart. was very cool about it, bless It was to smoke and drink more.
Well the till ain’t ringing as Q8) What was the best him. The rest of us were hiding in Touch wood, I’m managing to
much as it used to. selling product in store over the back trying not to laugh too hold it together.
Q3) Ever served anyone the Xmas period? loudly. Q17) Complete this
famous? (if so, who?) Panasonic Lumix compacts. Q14) What’s the highest sentence – “if it snows
We get quite a few famous Q9) Favourite product in value sale you’ve ever again, I will… ”
people in; amongst others your shop? Panasonic GF1. made? Embrace the 4 hour journey and
we’ve had Michael Palin, the Q10) What was your fi rst £50,000 and he paid cash! freeze my balls off.
late Michael Hutchence, Lenny job? McDonalds Q15) If you could be Pixel Q18) Finally,what is the
Henry, Martin Clunes, Stephen Q11) What has been the editor for a day, what best joke you know?
Fry and Jeffrey Archer. best way of attracting would you do? Q. What do you say to a man
Q4) What’s your favourite customers into the shop? Employ someone to check for with no arms and no legs?
thing about Pixel? Word of mouth and a reputation errors and typos… A. Have you got the time on you
The cutting edge journalism and for giving good, impartial advice. Q16) What was your New cock?
PIXEL CALLING
PIXEL CALLING
PIXEL CALLS GARETH WALTERS OF WALTERS PHOTO VIDEO, MERTHYR TYDFIL,
SOUTH WALES TO ASK “HOW’S BUSINESS?”
It was very quiet at the an account where there is no over Christmas on last year.
beginning of January (I think interest. We expected it to be a
because of the weather) and Our best sellers at the moment bad, so in preparation we
following a disappointing are the Canon EOS 5D Mark didn’t over stock. However, the Focus is becoming more of a
Christmas period, business is II and 7D. I think the reason Pentax compacts sold really well photographers’ show instead of
just now starting to pick up for this is that these particular and the margin was good. a retailer’s show.
and we’re getting more people products are good product and We were expecting to have a We do photo gifts at our head
through the door. at a price point where people good return on high defi nition offi ce store and have four other
Our online business is ticking would rather have the camera video but not so. We hope that stores with mini labs installed.
along but it’s always very than save. people will adopt it this year. We expected a good run of
competitive because the major Entry level SLRs aren’t selling The New Canon EOS 550 I photo gifts over the Valentine’s
distributors make it extremely as well. I think the public are would expect to sell really well. period but as yet we have not
hard to compete. reluctant to part with their spare We always say that we will not seen any increase but this will
Top end gear is selling really cash at the moment and we’ve attend Focus, but always end probably trickle through over
well at the moment. There’s still certainly found that there is an air up going mainly to meet up the next few days as Valentine’s
money out there and I think that of uncertainty on the high street with others in the business and was only at the weekend! I
people would rather buy the even though they claim that the to check out what’s new and think the trade needs to
camera that they always wanted recession is over. what’s up and coming. I’ve increase awareness of photo
rather than put their savings into Unfortunately, we were down found over the past few years that gifts with the general public.
PIXEL 10
Pixel Feb 22f.indd 10 19/02/2010 15:46
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