SUPPORT your camera stores... NOT the internet !


Dfive

Senior Member
Nov 20, 2008
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Singapore lah....
www.clubsnap.com
Hi bros n Sis out there :)

We all are passionate about photography ? - YES !
People who work in Camera Stores are like us, enthusiasts and sometimes pro's doing sideline work - YES !

Please SUPPORT your Camera Stores and fellow photographers ( their staff ) IGNORE the internet when you can get it from the stores direct.

WHY You ask ?

Cause this may happen :

The UK's biggest high-street camera retailer, Jessops, has gone into administration, putting 192 stores and 2,000 jobs at risk. The company's website is not accepting orders and administrator PricewaterhouseCoopers has said vouchers and returns would not be honoured at present. The company, that has been slow to respond to competition from internet retailers, was rescued in 2009 by HSBC, which bought into the company in return for writing off some of its debts. However, increasingly stringent credit terms imposed by suppliers (a common move when there is doubt surrounding the future of a company), and predictions of further falls in camera sales led to the administrators being called.

The move follows the collapse of the country's (UK ) largest independent photographic chain, Jacobs, in June 2012.


http://www.dpreview.com/news/2013/01/09/Jessops-Britains-biggest-camera-store-enters-administration
 

When there is no internet last time the store earning big time and become very greedy so customers at their mercy. Now customers have more choices if you do business the dinosaur way you got to dine out eventually
 

Camera stores have not earn big time on Camera, Lens, Flash.... only on assc.

Do you know major stores ( TK and SLR ) here in SG are lucky to make $40 - $$60 profit on a D800..... Cathay may make $80 - $150 profit on a D800 ;)

Margins in Camera stores on major hardware are some 2.5% - 8% :0 its been that way for over a decade....
 

I find that your plea is lacking a strong argument.. brick and mortar stores also have their own internet storefront nowadays
 

Wherever offers me the best price i will support.
 

Will they support you if you lost your job and had to struggle to make ends meet? In the changing world, those who fail to adapt will be left behind.
 

I find that your plea is lacking a strong argument.. brick and mortar stores also have their own internet storefront nowadays

Not a plea.... just sharing :) All can make there own choice........ wait 10 years and you'll just have Harvey Norman ( aka : Hardly Normal ) to buy cameras from ;)
 

The only enemies for stores are competitors and land lord.
Competitors force them to lower price and land lord increase rental.
Both of them decrease the profit margin.
 

The only enemies for stores are competitors and land lord.
Competitors force them to lower price and land lord increase rental.
Both of them decrease the profit margin.

and good for us.

i wish we could have the same for our public transport system sigh. i still miss my student pass.
 

and good for us.

i wish we could have the same for our public transport system sigh. i still miss my student pass.

I wish the same for our telecom companies too
 

Btw, harvey norman quoted me better prices than tk foto, ms colour, slrr, cathay photo, alan photo, john for canon 70-200 f2.8 v2, canon 1d mark iv, canon 580ex ii, canon 100mm macro L, and yes, i m a regular customer of harvey norman for big ticket items.

Dont make fun of harvey norman, they easily offer prices Better than the so called big local cam stores - have u negotiate prices in harvey norman before??? Even if all the local stores die, its ok,since their pricing are NOT as good as harvey norman.

one of our so called good local shop in funan lagi worst - went in to buy canon 70-200 f2.8, then the shopkeeper gave me one set which he box has tonnes of scratches, then went open box, the lens wasnt sitted properly in styrofoam, then the plastic wrapper super messy, the lens itself has a lot visible dust on lens surface, the lens itself has dust bunnies inside - then i asked for another set, the shopkeeper black faced me KNS

on the second box, the box is ok, styrofoam and plastic wrapper is ok, but when i looked at the base of the lens where it connects to the camera, the black velvet lining is peeling off !!! and there is a 5 cent patch floating at the rear!!!! then i look at the person & ask him wat is this?? he ask me go other shop buy KNS

its so darn obvious that both are used lens but yet the shop is selling as new!!!

then i went harvey norman, the lens & packaging is totally perfect, lens is sharp and best of all its $60 cheaper!!!
did i also mention their service is great???

now u laughing at harvey norman??? u sure need better justification

Yeah negotiate many a thing..... 2.5k+ lens cant make it.... 6k+ cam bodies cant make it.... 4k+ cam bodies also can't make it.... 3x 64gb men cards also can't.

Not laughing either....

:)
 

WWW has become a reality of life. Customer experience will one day be almost equate to digital experience. Survival of business needs to flow with time and in this context, it means brick and mortar retailers will have to evolve and offer online shopping option in order to retain their customers. No point asking for support for reasons such as saving jobs there is no lifetime employment in today's competitive landscape.
 

You don't have to worry too much for local camera shops. There is no Amazon, no Adorrama, no BH photo here to snare their customers away. Only eBay whose price usually has shipping charges attached to it.
Sad as I am about the situation here, brick & mortar are here to stay for a long time to come. Because nobody wants to add 7% to their purchase online if the gov decided to get tough.

Btw, Asia's Amazon equivalent - Zalora could be a force in the future. If they can get their reputation and pricing right.
 

You don't have to worry too much for local camera shops. There is no Amazon, no Adorrama, no BH photo here to snare their customers away. Only eBay whose price usually has shipping charges attached to it.
Sad as I am about the situation here, brick & mortar are here to stay for a long time to come. Because nobody wants to add 7% to their purchase online if the gov decided to get tough.

Btw, Asia's Amazon equivalent - Zalora could be a force in the future. If they can get their reputation and pricing right.

got technogadgets and their grey sets. i personally bought some items there. would recommend the shop for competitive pricing. meetup also avaliable, i get to check the lens until i song then buy.
 

The retailers are getting sandwiched between rising rental, tightening of labor market and internet-savvy consumers demanding for price transparency and maximum value. What used to work in the past e.g. high mark-up taking advantage of the lack of price transparency is not as effective in today's Internet age. These brick and mortar retailers need to innovate and transform in order to survive in the next decade. They need to work in improving their customer service and service delivery model to differentiate themselves from the crowd e.g. I think Click! camera has done a good job in this regard with their new customer-centric service delivery model. They should also explore getting on the e-commerce bandwagon as failure to do so could mean losing a substantial portion of the market that is growing rapidly.

I believe that the smaller retailers who are slow to react to these changing landscape will soon lose its competitiveness and be forced to shut down or bought over by competitors who are ahead of the curve. In other words, I expect that major reconsolidation to take place in the coming few years where we will end up with only a few big camera retail stores and possibly a few small ones catering to niche segments of the market left in Singapore.
 

The retailers are getting sandwiched between rising rental, tightening of labor market and internet-savvy consumers demanding for price transparency and maximum value. What used to work in the past e.g. high mark-up taking advantage of the lack of price transparency is not as effective in today's Internet age. These brick and mortar retailers need to innovate and transform in order to survive in the next decade. They need to work in improving their customer service and service delivery model to differentiate themselves from the crowd e.g. I think Click! camera has done a good job in this regard with their new customer-centric service delivery model. They should also explore getting on the e-commerce bandwagon as failure to do so could mean losing a substantial portion of the market that is growing rapidly.

I believe that the smaller retailers who are slow to react to these changing landscape will soon lose its competitiveness and be forced to shut down or bought over by competitors who are ahead of the curve. In other words, I expect that major reconsolidation to take place in the coming few years where we will end up with only a few big camera retail stores and possibly a few small ones catering to niche segments of the market left in Singapore.

very educated comment bro ! :)

Really agree with this comment also.
 

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People buy from you because they LIKE you.
Because your store is convenient for them to go to.
Because they feel comfortable in the store.
Because their friends also buy from this store.

Not because you are the absolute cheapest.

Different product type will cause different consumer behavior.
i.e. people buy a house differently from buying a loaf of bread.

Different nationalities have different consumer behavior.
My ex-Rolex-salesman friend said in 1980s (Japan was rich then), when Japanese tourists come, if one of them buy...then most of the rest start to buy.
 

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People buy from you because they LIKE you.
Because your store is convenient for them to go to.
Because they feel comfortable in the store.
Because their friends also buy from this store.

Not because you are the absolute cheapest.

Different product type will cause different consumer behavior.
i.e. people buy a house differently from buying a loaf of bread.

Different nationalities have different consumer behavior.
My ex-Rolex-salesman friend said in 1980s (Japan was rich then), when Japanese tourists come, if one of them buy...then most of the rest start to buy.

This is very true. Price is not everything. Some customers willing to pay premium to get the extra services. Only those who are price sensitive will always choose the cheapest place to buy while the more affluent ones do not mind paying for services.