Camera World was a retailer of photographic equipment and photofinishing services based in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, United States, and founded in 1977. It was an independent company until 2002, and then from 2002 to 2016 it was a

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

of Ritz Camera & Image or C&A Marketing. In the mid-1990s, it was one of the largest

mail-order Mail order is the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote methods such as: * Sending an order form in the mail * Placing a telephone call * Placing a ...

retailers of photographic and audio equipment in the nation. The company's revenues totalled $80 million in 1998, of which $16 million were from

online sales In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed "on line" or ...

. Revenues grew to $115.7 million in 1999 (equivalent to $ million in ), and the company relocated its administrative offices and inventory to a new facility in

Beaverton, Oregon Beaverton is a city in Washington County, in the U.S. state of Oregon with a small portion bordering Portland in the Tualatin Valley. The city is among the main cities that make up the Portland metropolitan area. Its population was 97,494 at the ...

, the following year. The company's only

brick-and-mortar Brick and mortar (also bricks and mortar or B&M) refers to a physical presence of an organization or business in a building or other structure. The term ''brick-and-mortar business'' is often used to refer to a company that possesses or leases r ...

store, in

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, as well as its Internet business were sold in 2002 to Ritz Camera, which continued to operate them under the Camera World name. Ritz, in turn, was acquired by C&A Marketing in 2012, but retained the Camera World name as a Ritz brand, for both the store and the Internet business, until closure of the store. The store closed on January 21, 2016.

History

Camera World was founded in Portland in 1977 by Chung Doo "Jack" Shin (often identified as J. D. Shin), a Korean-American who had emigrated to the U.S. from South Korea in 1973 and moved from New York to Portland in 1976. The business was originally a single store, located in the ground floor of the Swetland Building, at SW 5th and Washington in downtown Portland. It never opened any additional stores, but expanded into

sales and, later, Internet sales. The mail-order business was launched in 1982. The company had 45 employees in 1990. Sales reached $53 million in 1993. Camera World store at original location in 1985

Camera World store at original location in 1985

By the mid-1990s, Camera World had become one of the nation's largest mail-order retailers of photographic and audio equipment. In 1995, around 75 percent of Camera World's business was in mail-order sales, and the company employed 65 people. The company's headquarters and mail-order operations were located in the same building as the store, the Swetland Building, at 5th and Washington. The entire seven-story building was owned by Shin, who had acquired it in the late 1970s. In November 1995, Camera World's sole store was relocated to a much larger space in the

400 SW Sixth Avenue 400 SW Sixth Avenue is an eleven-story office building in Downtown Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. Originally known as the First National Bank Building, it opened in 1960 as a six-story bank building. The tall mid-rise contains of space, w ...

building, at that building's 6th & Washington corner, only one block away from the old location. The old store had occupied about of retail space, while the new store had . The Swetland Building continued to house the company's mail-order operations and inventory, as well as administrative offices. The company launched its website, Cameraworld.com, in 1996. Founder J. D. Shin sold the business in 1997 to Sverica International, an investment group based in

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. Internet sales grew from only $1 million in 1997 to more than $15 million in 1998. Total revenues were about $80 million in 1998, of which 20 percent was from online sales, and grew to $115.7 million in 1999, of which 52 percent was from online sales. The company changed its name to Cameraworld.com in March 1999. In the late 1990s, Camera World's corporate offices and distribution center were located in Northeast Portland. In 2000, the company built a new warehouse in the Portland suburb of Beaverton and moved its offices and most other operations to that location. The size of the company's workforce peaked in 2000 at about 175 employees. In 2002, Camera World's online business was sold to Ritz Interactive, Inc., and its store and catalog business was sold to Ritz Camera Centers. The Camera World name was retained by both Ritz companies. In 2012, the Camera World brand was among several Ritz brands acquired by C&A Marketing, which also chose to continue using it, but ceased using it shortly after the closure, in late January 2016, of the only brick-and-mortar store.

References

External links

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

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www.cameraworld.com
website in 1996 {{Authority control 1977 establishments in Oregon 2016 disestablishments in Oregon Retail companies disestablished in 2002 Companies based in Portland, Oregon Consumer electronics retailers in the United States Defunct companies based in Oregon Photographic retailers Retail companies established in 1977 2002 mergers and acquisitions Photography companies of the United States Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2011 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2012 Companies that have filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy