Paul Harmel inducted into IPC Hall of Fame
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| David M. Ritz, chairman and CEO of Ritz Camera Centers, welcomes Paul Harmel of Lifetouch into the IPC Hall of Fame. Photo by Brandon Remler. |
The International Photographic Council (IPC), New York., N.Y., a non-governmental organization of the United Nations, inducted Paul Harmel, chairman and CEO of Lifetouch Inc., into the IPC Hall of Fame, last week at the United Nations. The award recognizes legendary contributors to the photographic industry. Harmel was inducted into the IPC Hall of Fame by David M. Ritz, chairman and CEO of Ritz Camera Centers Inc. The keynote speaker for the luncheon was Ted Fox, executive director of PMA.
IPC is a multinational non-governmental organization of the United Nations, composed of representatives from every major sector of the photographic industry. Founded in 1974, it is dedicated to increasing worldwide recognition of photography as a universal means of communication through the adoption of a motto, “Peace through understanding, Understanding through Photography, the Universal Language.”
The Sharper Image files for bankruptcy protection after 31 years of business
The Sharper Image , San Francisco, Calif., recently filed for bankruptcy protection, reports The New York Times. The retailer will still operate some of its 184 stores as it tries to pay off debts to creditors like U.P.S. (owed $6 million) and Garmin, the maker of GPS navigation systems (owed $2 million), says the article.
Sharper Image began in 1977 as a catalog retailer, selling jogging watches, and later began to offer exotic products like $5,000 massage chairs and a $300 robotic vacuum. The company also offers digital cameras and digital photo frames. Catalog orders account for less than 10 percent of Sharper Image sales, highlighting the challenges of mail-order shopping in a time of big-box and online retailing, says The New York Times.
Sharper Image, which never carried popular new movies and video games that typically keep shoppers coming back, struggled for an identity in the consumer electronics industry. To avoid the competitive rush, Sharper Image carried distinctive products that could not be found anywhere else. This tactic led to the company hedging its bets on a select few products, which proved to be too risky. The chain began experiencing steady sales declines in 2004, according to its bankruptcy filing.
The 2007 holiday season sales fell 11 percent at Sharper Image, and overall revenue fell 23 percent. The retailer’s management now says that 90 stores, about half of all Sharper Image’s outlets, are performing poorly and should be closed as soon as possible, reports The New York Times. During the last 10 years, several local and national electronics retailers such as, Tweeter, Crazy Eddie and CompUSA have either filed for bankruptcy or closed, says the article.
Getty Images agrees to $2.4 billion buyout
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Getty Images Inc., Seattle, Wash., has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by affiliates of the private equity firm Hellman & Friedman LLC. The transaction is valued at $2.4 billion, including the assumption of existing debt. Under the terms of the agreement, Getty Images stockholders will receive $34 in cash for each outstanding share of common stock they own, says the company. This price represents a premium of approximately 55 percent over the closing price on Jan.18, 2008, the last trading day before the company announced that it was exploring alternatives.
Completion of the transaction is subject to shareholder approval and other closing conditions. The transaction is not subject to a financing condition and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2008.
Financing commitments have been provided by Barclays Capital, GE Commercial Finance, and RBS Greenwich Capital. Getty Investments and related parties, including the co-founder and chairman, Mark Getty, have agreed to vote in favor of the transaction and rollover their shares into the acquiring entity. Goldman, Sachs & Co. is acting as financial advisor to Getty Images. Barclays Capital and RBS Greenwich Capital are acting as financial advisors to Hellman & Friedman.
Overall customer satisfaction with retailers beginning to decline
The University of Michigan , Ann Arbor, Mich., recently released its quarterly American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), and consumers aren’t so happy, reports MarketWatch. Consumer satisfaction has dipped to 74.9 on a 100-point scale, off 0.4 from the third quarter. This marks the second straight quarterly drop and marked the lowest score in 2007, says the article.
Poor customer satisfaction, combined with an increase in household debt and poor economic conditions, is not a good combination for retailers. Considering these factors, the first quarter will likely end with spending growth at a poor 2.5 percent.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is the worst rated in customer satisfaction among department and discount stores, according to the ACSI. Its score fell 6 percent to 68, well below the industry average of 77. Nordstrom Inc. led all department and discount stores with a score of 80, followed by Kohl’s Corp.
Home Depot Inc., the leading national home-improvement retailer, is also among the lowest scorers on the index, coming in at 67. Its rival Lowe’s Companies Inc., climbed to a score of 75, widening the gap between the two.
Best Buy Co. Inc. and Circuit City Stores Inc. were close in results, with Best Buy scoring a 73 and Circuit City at 71. Barnes & Noble Inc. was in the lead at 83, with Borders Group and Costco tying at second with scores of 81.
Results for e-commerce increased by 2 percent to 81.6 — a new high for the category. With an index rating of 88, Amazon.com maintains its leading position among online retailers and among the highest-scoring companies on the ACSI, reports MarketWatch.
Joining the ACSI for the first time were online retailers Newegg, Netflix, and Overstock.com with scores, respectively, of 87, 84, and 80.
In memoriam: Edward Wagner
Edward Wagner, 87, died Feb. 21 after a brief illness. He was a resident of Mill Neck, N.Y. Wagner along with his business partner, Rudolf Maschke, founded Photo Industry Reporter in 1993. In a career that spanned 7 decades, Wagner held a variety of positions in photo publishing, from advertising space salesman in the early years for Photo Dealer and Photographic Trade News, to advertising manager of Popular Photography, and then co-owner and co-publisher of nearly a dozen magazines under the PTN Publishing corporate banner, reports Photo Industry Reporter.
Born in Manhattan, N.Y., Wagner was raised in Brooklyn and, with the exception of the time he spent in the U.S. Army Air Force, lived in the New York metropolitan area all of his life. During World War II, he served 5 years as a pilot, primarily in the China-Burma-India theater, reaching the rank of Major. At one point he commanded a squadron of B-25 bombers, and he took part in rescue missions to save wounded soldiers in enemy territory.
In 1945, Wagner joined the advertising sales department of Everett Gellert’s Photo Dealer magazine, one of two publications serving the then-small number of this country’s photo retailers. Some 10 years later he joined Sam Krivit to work on the start-up of Industrial Photography. Eventually, he moved over to head Photographic Trade News, and as its publisher, he helped build it into the top industry publication for retailers before leaving to become advertising manager at Popular Photography.
After two years in consumer publishing, Wagner was ready to build his own business, and in 1963 he joined his friend Maschke to become co-publisher of Photographic Trade News, which Krivit had just sold. Wagner became the driving force behind the PTN dailies, the first printed daily papers to be published on the scene at photo shows, including at PMA shows, and for which he took a hands-on role, writing and editing copy, and laying out pages.
The two partners sold PTN after 25 years of successful operation, with the intention of retiring. But after 5 years of observing the photo industry from the sidelines, they launched Photo Industry Reporter in 1992 as a bi-weekly publication, going against the trend of the monthly trade publications. When he and Maschke sold the paper to Jerry Grossman and Alan Levine in 2005, they’d built it into the largest circulation photo trade publication in the country.
An avid and talented golfer, Wagner was an active member of the PhotoImaging Manufacturers and Distributors Association, serving as the chairman of their successful golf outing for many years. Friends and colleagues in the photo business recognized Wagner’s entrepreneurial spirit, marketing savvy, energy, and passion for the industry when in 2006 he and Maschke were given PMDA’s Norman C. Lipton Lifetime Achievement Award. Wagner also was a PMA Distinguished Service Award recipient, receiving the award in 1997.
Wagner is survived by his wife Frances, and his daughters Robin and Karen.
People on the move
· AAA Imaging Solutions, Westminster, Calif., appoint ed Stan Skrocki national sales manager. Skrocki brings more than 35 years of photo industry experience to his new position, says the company. Prior to joining AAA Imaging Solutions Skrocki spent more than 26 years with Noritsu America Corp. During his tenure at Noritsu, he held a number of positions including technical service representative, national accounts technical coordinator, sales representative, and remarketing sales manager.
· Eastman Kodak Co., Rochester, N.Y., named Dennis F. Strigl, current president and COO of Verizon Communications, to the company board of directors. Strigl became president and COO of Verizon in January 2007. In 2000, he was responsible for bringing together the domestic wireless operations of Bell Atlantic, Vodafone AirTouch, and GTE to form Verizon Wireless, for which he served as president and CEO until being named to his current position with the company. Strigl’s election brings the Kodak board to 12 members, 11 of whom are independent directors, with Kodak CEO Antonio Perez serving as the only non-independent director.
· The Picture Licensing Universal System Coalition (PLUS), Pasadena, Calif., has significantly expanded its board of directors for 2008. This governing body of PLUS will assist the organization with its mission to simplify and facilitate the communication and management of image rights. PLUS directors are industry professionals, participating on behalf of leading non-profit associations. Newly elected board members include: David S. Ferriero, director of the New York Public Libraries, representing libraries via the Association of Research Libraries (ARL); Clement Mok, independent designer and consultant, representing the design and advertising industries via the AIGA; Scott Brownstein, digital imaging technologist, representing PMA; Dustin Wees, director of Metadata and Cataloging, ArtStor, representing educational institutions via the Visual Resources Association (VRA). Also recently elected to the board is Alan Newman, chief of the Division of Imaging & Visual Services, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., representing museums via the Museum Computer Network (MCN).
Industry notes
· If the thought of shooting RAW sends a shiver of terror down your spine, the most recent DIMAcast may forever allay your fears. Michael Tapes, founder of RAWWorkflow.com, inventor of the Whibal white balance reference card, has produced a new video tutorial called “RAW Without Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt” — “RAW Without FUD” for short. In this episode of the DIMAcast, Tapes tells Digital Imaging Digest editor Jennifer Kruger why RAW is actually easier than JPEG, and why it should be every photographer’s preferred shooting mode.
· PEphoto, Woodside, N.Y., partnered with LifePics Inc., Boulder, Colo., to launch a new online digital imaging service that allows PEphoto customers to store, share, and order prints of their digital images. Orders can be sent directly to the customer’s home, or be picked up at any PEphoto pickup location. PEphoto is one of the largest private wholesale manufacturers in the imaging industry, and has 2,000 retail partners in the New York City area. Its product lines include wholesale printing, retail delivery, commercial printing, and digital photography consultation.
· Insignia photo frames, which were largely sold in Best Buy Co. Inc. and Sam’s Club stores over the holidays, contained a computer virus, reports the San Francisco Chronicle . Best Buy said it received about two dozen complaints this week after it posted notices on the Web that it sold some infected Insignia brand photo frames over the holidays. The damage appears limited to the Insignia 10.4-inch frame, model number NS-DPF-10A, which has been discontinued. The frames were infected during manufacturing, says the article. Consumers that have experienced an infected frame are urged to contact Best Buy, Sam’s Club, or Insignia. If users own an Insignia 10.4-inch model digital photo frame, and haven’t plugged it in, they can contact Insignia through their website for further instructions to repair the problem.
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