General Information we find important.
All this week, the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) “Strictly Business” blog will feature DGP professional photographer members in a blog post speaking about—of course—digital asset management. Todays post was written by our own William Moritz and can be read here – http://www.asmp.org/strictlybusiness/2014/09/why-you-should-care-about-dam
The ASMP “Strictly Business” blog is a must read that you should add to your regular reading list – http://www.asmp.org/strictlybusiness
Apple introduced 2 new OS’s (iO7 and OS X Mavericks), new Macbook Airs and announced the long awaited new Mac Pro.
First and foremost the new Airs were basicly what we expected. Nice upgrades to great day to day laptops. Some people were hoping for Retina displays and touch, but I never really expected to see that. Retina displays are better suited in the MacBook Pros due to battery draw.
iOS 7 is for the most part what all of the rumors said it would be. All in all it looks like a good improvement that supports iPhones back to iPhone 4 for free. We will see an endless amount of discussion of both pros and cons from people have not used iOS7. So before you get your shorts in a bunch keep in mind that the people who have first hand knowledge are all under NDA. If you watched (or watch now) the Keynote you will know everything that the talking heads know.
Lastly, wow the preview of the new Mac Pro. Again keep in mind no one talking about it has actually used it. The specs and pictures are all out there, but this is merely a preview. That being said, I love the device. As a working photographer I think this new Mac Pro is going to work a dream for me and our studio. No doubt it is going to be an expense, but good tools always are. We will certainly be waiting with baited breath for the release of the new Mac Pro.
In my previous entry I pointed out that CPI Corp has filed bankruptcy. CPI Corp operated the portrait studios located inside Sears, Wal-Mart and Toys-R-Us in addition its wedding business. These studios operated under the names Sears Portrait Studios, Picture Me, Kiddie Kandids and Bella Pictures. All in all more than 2000 studios were closed.
The closing of these studios and the following bankruptcy has left a huge hole in the photography industry that is ripe for the small local studio to step up and fill.
I won’t spend a large amount of time addressing why and how CPI Corp got into this situation. If you are interested in these details Google and Bing are your friends. Suffice it to say, as with most of these types of situations this has been a long time coming and is not simply tied to one issue.
Here is the important information for you as a small business. Now is the time to step up and show the consumers who kept CPI Corp in business for more than 60 years why they should be working with a local studio. If you search the internet for information regarding these companies (Sears Portrait Studio, Picture Me and Kiddie Kandids) you will find story after story about customers left hanging. In some cases it is being reported that sessions and orders (with payment) were being taken right up to the day before the studios were closed. As photographers we know all to well how important portraits can be and we are seeing first hand what happens when the company behind the camera does not have this understanding or passion for photography. Below are two links to a story out of Las Vegas that show both the bad and good to come from this mess.
http://www.ktnv.com/youaskweinvestigate/206355851.html
http://www.ktnv.com/youaskweinvestigate/206686511.html
Robert Parker of Slick Click Photography did the right thing. He stepped up and helped out the Kiddie Kandids customers who were stuck without the portraits that they had paid for. This is a great outcome for both the customers and Slick Click Photography. The customers get portraits and Robert gets great publicity and hopefully a customer for life.
All of that being said here are the bullet points on what you should being doing to maximize this opportunity.
I can not stress enough that now is the time to put even more energy into marketing yourself as the photographer to choose. There are now a huge number of qualified customer out there with a history of paying for portraits and they no longer have a photographer. I realize that not every one of these customers is going to become your customer. Many will simply go to Target, JC Penny or one of Lifetouch’s other studios. With over 2000 studios closed there are more than enough customers to go around. Go get them and make them your customer.
CPI Corp, the company that operated photo studios inside Sears and Walmart among others has filed for bankruptcy and ceased operations. CPI closed all its U.S. and Puerto Rican studio and store operations on April 3, resulting in more than 4,300 employees’ being fired, according to an SEC filing.
From the website of the company handing their bankruptcy:
On May 1, 2013 (the “Petition Date”), CPI Corp. and fifteen of its subsidiaries (the “Debtor”):
| CPI Corp. | Bella Pictures Holdings, LLC, |
| Centrics Technology Inc., | Consumer Programs Inc., |
| Consumer Programs Partner Inc., | CPI Canadian Holdings, Inc., |
| CPI Images LLC, | CPI International Holdings, Inc., |
| CPI Prints Plus Inc., | CPI Research & Development, Inc., |
| CPI Technology Corp., | Image Source, Inc., |
| Myportraits.com, Inc., | Ridgedale Prints Plus, Inc., |
| Sandy Realty Holdings, LLC, | Texas Portraits L.P., |
filed their voluntary petitions in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (the “Bankruptcy Court”) seeking relief under Chapter 7 of the United States Bankruptcy Code.
We have been following this story for several weeks now and are working on a large post as to what we think this means to all of the small studios in the country (good news in our opinion). Check back after the Memorial Day weekend for a more detailed assessment of the situation.