That stinks.  I've bought a lot of specialty studio stuff from Calumet.  Not sure where I'll go for those things now.

I've been to the Calumet Oak Brook store a couple of times and have a Calumet bag which is top notch. So it's sad but not surprising. The GlassDoor reviews show the company was doing pretty bad. The big chains that killed the mom and pop stores are now being killed by the internet.

And I'm sure the salespeople were helpful but that role is from a time before the internet when a salesperson was one of the only people you could get good information from. Now there are plenty of review sites and dozens of online stores with user ratings that have made that role and chain stores mostly obsolete except for the hard core specialists. The last time I was in Best Buy I knew way more than the salesperson. I don't think Best Buy stores will exist in five years.

In Chicago there's still Central Camera which is family owned and has been around since 1899. A great old school place of a dying breed. http://centralcameracompany.com/

Unfortunately I see little future for high street electrical/photographic stores. You can get all the advice you need from the internet and best price too. Maybe the odd niche store will survive.

In the UK were are heading for high streets full of charity shops, fast food joints, betting shops, nail bars and barbers!!!

sad, we had a good camera store near our workplace- family business that had been around since 1940 and folded just a few years ago- the owner told me digital killed him...

We have a family owned camera store (Kenmore Camera) in our town that's been around for years and they just moved into much larger space....embraced digital and are doing better than ever but they are also very active in the local photographic community, offering classes, putting on expos, bringing in speakers, etc.

I seriously doubt internet shopping had anything to do with Calumet closing up. First time I shopped with them was in the 1980's and I've never stepped foot in one of their physical locations .. most of their customers haven't. Funny enough both the popular mom n pop stores here in my area have expanded their stores while NOT embracing online shopping .. sounds like Calumet had one too many bad executives that should have been fired before the business flopped.

It may have something to do with it but downsizing and strategic shifting would be the more reasonable approach.  Here in southern California I use Sammy's Camera and they are also near a Calumet store (5-6 miles away) and Calumet inventory quality stinks in comparison, at least at this store.  I go into Sammy's a lot and it is nearly always packed.  There are times when I leave without anything because there's a line of people trying to hook up with one of the 10-12 service people.  This single observation would contradict the Internet angle, though.  Now, I work in an industry that is linked to The Home Depot.  And I know for a fact (because I am involved in it) that Home Depot is eliminating certain inventory items due to the Internet.  BOPIS is killing their current inventory model, so they expect to begin shrinking their store inventory and moving more into the warehouse BOPIS model, like Best Buy does.  In the case of Home Depot, though, they see it happening so they are adjusting.

It all depends on how you search 

�buy online, pick-up in-store� (BOPIS) model

Second result for 'warehouse BOPIS model'

http://connected.retailnetgroup.com/index.php/2012/09/24/ship-from-store-what-retailers-can-learn-from-the-early-adopters/

Maybe it's a local thing. For years they were good for used equipment and Mail Order sales. Seems that for a place that was doing that, they could have embraced the Internet better. But sad to see them go.

Biggest places in Milwaukee, went years ago. I mean big, rentals, used, the major distribution points for some brands. Poof! The last Blacks/Wolf in the shopping center just disappeared a couple of years ago. Last  neighborhood stores, one by one (and they looked like antique shops, dusty and stale) have closed.

What's left is one place with good intelligent staff. They run classes and have tent sales with factory Reps. They have news and keep up with the market. Two stores, next one is some 20 miles West. But they seem to be filling the need.

Otherwise I agree. You have every appliance and electronics store on the planet, including big box and drug stores, selling cameras and doing processing. It's just been overtaken by big. I'm a B&H buyer. They deliver, sometimes in one day. Have reasonable prices, I get what I need and don't have to leave the office.

True I can't get my hands on things and try them, but personally it's not that important, I have a good idea what a camera is and I'm not that fussy. If it makes good photo, and does what the reviews and Mfg. claim it will. That's what I want.

If you think back, most small family run stores have been overtaken by big groups or corporate giants. Maybe it's just "old folks" like my age, but there used to be corner stores and shops all over. Now we have shopping centers and giant malls, and the little places have be re-purposed into office space, trades, or homes.

The big chains that killed the mom and pop stores are now being killed by the internet.

and actually Amazon and Alibaba will soon kill the remaining online competition.

Calumet still replying to email queries re products....

Quote from: PaulieWalnuts on March 14, 2014, 06:42

The big chains that killed the mom and pop stores are now being killed by the internet.

and actually Amazon and Alibaba will soon kill the remaining online competition.

You may be surprised. One of the fastest growing online business last year was walmart.com