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BUT RESEARCH SHOWS INDUSTRY FALLING BEHIND ONLINE


Research conducted by Findaphotostore.com, the new search engine and ecommerce solution for independent photo retailers, in association with the PMA, shows that the market is in defiant mood. The research, which polled independent UK photo retailers, shows over half estimate that more than 10,000 customers walk through their doors every year and that, of those, at least 40% are loyal customers. 35% of respondents go as far as to say at least 60% of their customers are regular visitors. 65% were confident that, over the next five years, their business would maintain its position or even experience reasonable growth. The research also shows that the market is continuing to innovate


SURVEY CONFUSION REIGNS


TIM GRIMES: THE RULES ON RETAILERS’ LIABILTY FOR REPAIRS ARE MISLEADING


I have come across different interpretations of the law. The Federation of Small Businesses, a magistrate and a partner of a solicitors have all informed me that in the eyes of the law the retailer is responsible to the customer for the product for six years in England. And the manufacturers and importers are not legally required to compensate the retailer outside of their own warranty period. I have had different interpretations from the photographic trade itself - some of my suppliers state the fault has to be proven it was there at the time of


purchase whilst another supplier knows of some shops that point the six year rule out to their customers but tell the customer they have to get the camera serviced every year to comply with this law. The money gained from servicing the cameras replaces any lost profit. Some other suppliers state that in their warranty terms and conditions they will cover the equipment for two years. They feel this overrides the six year rule. The advice I have recieved from the legal trade states that these procedures are incorrect and could be misleading.


– with 100% of respondents diversifying to offer services other than hardware sales, and a whopping 92% offering specialist services such as restoration. While independent retailers are innovating, a worrying number do not trade online. “It’s really exciting to see the independent trade in relatively buoyant mood,” comments Andrew Clark, founder of Findaphotostore.com. “I think it’s partly because they have had to get used to weathering storms with the challenges of the past decade... When we asked about the relative lack of online trading in our industry, it was clear that most wanted to, but couldn’t find a trustworthy or cost effective supplier. That’s why we’ve launched Findaphotostore.com – to give the industry the means to trade online with a partner that knows, and cares about, their business.” Findaphotostore.com will launch an ad campaign in November.


TRADE TALK INDEPENDENTS POSITIVE THE BOOK BUILDER


A QUICK CHAT WITH PHOTO-ME’S LUDOVIC ANTONY


PIXEL: How did photokina go for Photo-Me? LUDOVIC: Photokina was very encouraging for us and the industry as a whole; it was great to see such a positive customer reaction to Photo-Me’s new generation of products, and a general optimism about the future of the industry.


PIXEL: It has often been reported that photobooks have been slow to take off in the UK. Why do you think this is? LUDOVIC: Our good friend Nigel McNaught has said “ultimately, the growth of photobooks will come down to marketing. If other European countries can make it work, then we can too”.


I believe that with the Photobook Builder or Maker, Photo-Me is introducing the ability for retailers to give customers something they really want.


PIXEL: Photo-Me has always been known for their photo-booths. Is this still the core business? LUDOVIC: Photo-Me’s core business remains the operation of photobooths but we have a fantastic R&D function which aims at continual improvement of general retail-oriented photo developing and ancillary products as a whole. This function was responsible for the Photobook Maker, the Pocket Book and the Photobook Builder.


PIXEL: What is the future of photo printing? LUDOVIC: In my view, the future of the photo printing market lies in the area of personalising photo products, something I would term ‘new generation prints’. I believe that the key is


for manufacturers to be able to deliver the necessary tools to allow efficient and economic production of these “new generation prints”.


See the new issue of Infolab (out this week) for a fuller version of this interview.


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