Photo Live Magazine First Issue Photo live - cat's add in 2017 versioin | Page 194

chris
niccolls
Chris you’re the host of The
Camera Store TV, how did that
start out
Jordan and I decided to do a
store tour really only in an effort
to have some sort of audio visual
appeal on our website. He had
just recently started at TCS and
had a background in film making. I
taught photography regularly and
so was capable of public speaking
in front of crowds. So we figured
we would give it a try and see
what happened. It was not our
best production to say the least
but there was something there and
we worked well together. The rest
is history.
Do you think the traditional
photography store business model
needs to change? What I mean is
we’ve seen major retailers in the
past close, how do you see the
future for your type of store?
It’s has changed drastically. If you
think of it in terms of a pyramid,
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the base and largest group of
people were the casual memory
makers wanting point and shoots
and simple cameras. In the
middle you had a smaller group of
enthusiasts who took photography
in a more serious way buying SLRs
and advanced lenses. At the top of
course the smallest group are the
working professionals. Cell phones
largely took away that whole
bottom layer and thus a big part of
the photo industries business. So
the key for us during this downturn
is to diversify into drones, and
video equipment, sound gear,
and even telescopes. Further it is
because of our website and across
canada sales which is in no small
part supported by the YouTube
brand we’ve created. Hopefully
in the future we can branch out
into more international sales and
continue to improve our web
presence.
On the Youtube channel, you’ve
probably tested and played with
as many different cameras as