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Ritz Camera & Image (formerly Ritz Camera Centers) is a photographic retail and photofinishing specialty store, headquartered in
Edison, New Jersey Edison is a township located in Middlesex County,in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated in Central New Jersey within the core of the state's Raritan Valley region, Edison is a commercial hub, home to Menlo Park Mall and Little India. It ...
. The company owns and used to operate a chain throughout the United States under the names Wolf Camera, Inkley’s and Ritz Camera. In 2012, Ritz Camera was acquired by C&A Marketing.


History

The family-owned company (Ritz Camera Centers, Inc., predecessor in interest to Ritz Camera & Image, LLC) was founded as a portrait studio in 1918 by Benjamin A. Ritz, in the Ritz Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey. In the early 20th century, it became a tradition to have special events like weddings, graduations, or confirmations captured with a B. A. Ritz portrait. In 1936, Benjamin and his brother Edward opened the first Ritz film-processing lab in Washington, D.C. Ritz Camera was headed by Edward's son, David Ritz.


Services

Ritz Camera was the first chain photofinishers to offer 4×6 prints from 35mm film, as well as free bordered prints, as standard. Ritz Camera is also the first national chain to offer 4.5×6, commonly known as 6D, prints. Unlike the traditional 4×6 prints used for film, Ritz's 6D prints reflect the different aspect ratio of 4:3 digital images. Ritz stores stocked 6D sized frames and albums. In July 2003, Ritz Camera introduced Ritzpix.com, which also offers customers online ordering and in-store pickup within an hour. Ritzpix.com is currently powered by Lucidiom. In 2010, customers had an option on ritzpix.com to have an online order delivered next day to their home at no extra charge. In May 2006, Ritz Camera announced a partnership with YesVideo to start offering same day DVD Transfers in all stores nationwide. These stores can transfer VHS, SVHS, MiniDv, Digital 8, and digital media to DVDs in about the time any particular tape takes to play. From 2007 to early 2008, Ritz began installing
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and
Xerox Xerox Holdings Corporation (; also known simply as Xerox) is an American corporation that sells print and electronic document, digital document products and services in more than 160 countries. Xerox is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut (ha ...
equipment in their locations to enable the production of hard-back photo books, photo calendars, and custom greeting cards by customers via in-store kiosks or through RitzPix.com for in-store pick up. Ritz and Motophoto are the only two national retailers to offer these services in a one-hour lab. Beginning in 2008, Ritz began installing lamination/mounting machines in many of their stores to offer foamcore mounting and laminating up to 24×36 inch prints in store. In February 2010, Ritz started offering Metallic Printing up to 30×40 size on
Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company (referred to simply as Kodak ) is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in analogue photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorpor ...
Professional Endura Metallic Paper and Deep Matte Prints on
Fujifilm , trading as Fujifilm, or simply Fuji, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, operating in the realms of photography, optics, office and medical electronics, biotechnology, and chemicals. The offerings from the ...
Paper. In May 2010, Ritz Camera started the Ritzpix Network, which for up to $20/month in imaging products, customers could get up to $100 off any qualifying camera. After multiple requests from customers, Ritz Camera & Image created the Ritz & Wolf Photo Patrol. Photo Patrol consist of Private Tutoring, four free Photography Classes with camera purchase, and 2-hour seminar classes.


Ritz Camera & Image acquired Kits Camera Inc.

In 1997, Ritz Camera & Image (then Ritz Camera Centers Inc.) entered into negotiations with the head officials at Kits Camera Inc., another specialty photography retail business. Kits Camera Inc. was a Seattle-based retail business founded by Firoz Lalji (also known as Feroz "Phil" Lalji) in 1975 with over 140 stores at the time of acquisition. The company was seen as a competitor to Ritz Camera & Image at the time. During the same year, Ritz Camera & Image acquired Kits Camera Inc. Following the acquisition, the total number of stores under Ritz Cameria & Image increased to 810 across 47 states.


Ritz Interactive

In 1999, David Ritz and others founded Ritz Interactive, Inc., an
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-based
e-commerce E-commerce (electronic commerce) is the activity of electronically buying or selling of products on online services or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain managem ...
company formed to bring the retail store brands to the internet. Despite the fact that the two companies share warehouse space and some personnel, Ritz Interactive and Ritz Camera Centers are officially separate companies. In 2002, Ritz Interactive acquired the Internet division of Cameraworld.com, a Portland, Oregon-based company. (Cameraworld.com's store and catalog business were acquired by Ritz Camera, rather than Ritz Interactive.) In 2003,
Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential econo ...
formed a sales alliance with Ritz Interactive, Inc., in a deal to broaden the online retail giant's selection of camera products and accessories. According to the ''Wall Street Journal'', Ritz Interactive Inc., which operates the websites for such retailers as Ritz Camera and Boaters World, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on August 19, 2011. The Irvine, Calif., company reported assets of about $809,000 and debts of $7.2 million in its bankruptcy petition, filed Friday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Santa Ana, Calif. Court papers show Ritz Interactive’s executive committee of its board of directors deemed the Chapter 11 filing “in the best interests” of the company, its creditors and stakeholders. Court papers show that David Ritz holds an 18.55% stake in the company. Among Ritz Interactive’s debts are a $3.55 million secured claim held by Ritz Camera. Ritz Interactive’s top unsecured trade creditors include American Express, owed about $434,000; Federal Express, owed nearly $104,000; and Google, owed more than $45,000. In May 2012, Ritz Interactive was acquired by Ritz Camera & Image.


Bankruptcies


2009 bankruptcy and purchase by RCI

On February 22, 2009, Ritz Camera Centers, Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Chief Restructuring Officer Marc Weinsweig cited the 2008 ongoing recession caused Ritz's 2008 holiday sales to be "materially lower" than a year earlier. Boater's World also suffered heavy losses in 2008 as gas prices soared. On April 2, 2009, it announced the closure of more than 300 stores nationwide and the liquidation of its Boaters World subsidiary in an attempt to reorganize and emerge from bankruptcy. On July 21, 2009,
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was esta ...
reported that a group called "RCI" had agreed to purchase the firm's remaining 375 stores for $33.1 million; the group included David Ritz. The group said it would attempt to keep all 375 stores open. The purchase agreement required approval of the bankruptcy court which was scheduled to hear the case on July 23. In November 2009, the new company, Ritz Camera & Image, LLC (RCI) opened five new stores, with a total open of about 300, with a wider range of products, including televisions, compact laptop computers, and smartphones.


2012 bankruptcy and liquidation

On June 22, 2012, Ritz Camera & Image filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection again and closed 128 of its stores. On September 6, 2012, liquidation specialists Gordon Brothers Retail Partners LLC and Hilco Merchant Resources LLC won an auction for Ritz Camera's assets and began the process of closing most of the 137 stores that remained.
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
-based camera distributors C&A Marketing have acquired the online RitzPix business and will operate a few of the retail locations across the country. On September 10, 2012, it was announced that all Ritz, Wolf and other associated subsidiaries would close by the end of October, while a few would reopen under C&A Marketing alongside Ritzpix an
RitzCamera.com
on November 1, 2012, and other stores were sold individually or in small groups to other retailers, including three locations to
Calumet Photographic Calumet Photographic, Inc., often shortened to Calumet Photo and formerly known as Calumet Manufacturing Company, is a photographic retail and photofinishing specialty store, originally headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. In 2012, the company owne ...
.


See also

*
Digital camera A digital camera is a camera that captures photographs in digital memory. Most cameras produced today are digital, largely replacing those that capture images on photographic film. Digital cameras are now widely incorporated into mobile devices ...
*
Film camera A movie camera (also known as a film camera and cine-camera) is a type of photographic camera that rapidly takes a sequence of photographs, either on an image sensor or onto film stock, in order to produce a moving image to project onto a movie s ...
*
Photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employe ...


References


External links

{{Commons category, Ritz Camera stores
Online Website for Ritz, Wolf, Inkleys, & Kits Camera Stores

RitzPix.com commercial

Corporate site for Ritz Interactive, Inc.
* https://blogs.wsj.com/bankruptcy/2011/08/22/ritz-interactive-clicks-into-chapter-11/ Beltsville, Maryland Companies based in Prince George's County, Maryland Retail companies disestablished in 2012 Retail companies established in 1918 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 Consumer electronics retailers in the United States Photographic retailers 1918 establishments in New Jersey 2012 disestablishments in New Jersey Photography companies of the United States