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Print ArticleAlong With Big Ticket Digital Items, Photo Retailers Seek
Accessories With Better Margins at PMA
by Dan Havlik
With over 30,000 retailers, photofinishers and imaging industry
leaders set to descend on Las Vegas for the 80th annual PMA
Convention, PTN spoke with a few prospective attendees to gauge
their expectations for this year’s show. What we heard was
not surprising—digital imaging will once again be the name of
the game at PMA. But what we also heard from them was a bit more
unexpected—it’s not necessarily the big product
releases from the likes of Canon and Nikon that photo specialty
dealers are most excited about, it’s the smaller digital
accessories that increase the bottom line that will be PMA’s
real finds this year.
“With film slowly fading, we’re looking for new digital
products to sell to expand our profit base,” said Pat Nagel
of Idaho Camera in Boise, PTN’s 2003 Dealer of the Year.
“So we’ll be looking at home printers, inks and papers
at the show this year. We’ll also be looking deeper into data
projectors and any kind of digital accessory that can increase our
profitability.”
Nagel also cited portable USB flash drives and digital camcorders
as two other items he and his brother Dennis—the other half
of Idaho Camera—will be researching at PMA 2004.
“The photo industry’s just going to expand deeper into
digital accessory items,” he noted. “Just look at all
these things that are film related that are no longer around. We
need to find things to replace all those items that have become
obsolete.”
Joel Paymer of Camera Land in Manhattan said he will also be
focusing on “things we can make margins on” at PMA
2004.
“It’s always great to see the latest and greatest of
products from the major manufacturers, but it’s equally
important to see the stuff in the back of the room that helps pay
the rent.”
Paymer, however, called it “ridiculous” to have the
show so early in February, saying it clashed with kids’
school vacations and fell in a month that was “not a buying
time.” Noting that because of the conflict he would only have
a day to walk the show, Paymer urged PMA to consider moving the
event to middle or late March.
Though his time will be limited, he said he still intended to give
the show a thorough search.
Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas
(Photo by Lorraine
A. DarConte)
“We’re looking for any kind of accessories, off
brands, picture frames, photo albums, you name it,” Paymer
said. “We’re looking for any little accessory that we
can buy for $2 and sell for $7.”
As an example, he cited an item called Digiclean from Promaster,
which is basically a shammy on a piece of plastic that attaches to
a camera strap. The device is used for cleaning the LCD screen on
the back of digital cameras. “It retails for $3.99 and we
make a very substantial profit on it,” Payer noted.
Barbara Hueber of Metro Photo & Imaging in Wichita Falls, Texas
said one of her goals at the show this year was to “look at
smaller vendors who can offer us profitable products and
services.”
“A year ago we found Hollywood FotoFix which does our photo
restorations for us,” Hueber told PTN. “We just
happened onto them in the smaller vendor section and they’ve
helped us tremendously with our restoration work.”
As far as products, Hueber said she would also be looking at
traditionally profitable items such as albums and frames,
batteries, bags and cases, filters and other
“gadgets.”
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