Gamla Enterprises, a wholesaler for the photo-imaging industry, announced they will be launching AgfaPhoto-branded memory solutions in North America as part of a global expansion of AgfaPhoto’s products. The new memory cards and USB flash drives will debut at the PMA 2010 trade show in Anaheim, California, February 21-23, 2010. Gamla, who secured the exclusive rights to market AgfaPhoto memory solutions in both North and South America, will offer 2GB, 4GB, 8GB and 16GB Secure Digital (SD) cards as well as 2GB, 4GB and 8GB microSD cards. AgfaPhoto microSD cards come packaged with a case and adapter, which allows consumers to...

HP announced zero percent financing promotions designed to make it easy and affordable for small and midsize businesses to deploy HP technology to meet their needs. Offered through HP Financial Services, the company’s asset management services and leasing subsidiary, the new promotions provide businesses the choice to either lease or own products. Businesses can choose the offer that best suits their needs to invest in new technology and maintain cash flow. This includes a 12-month lease with a $1 purchase option or a 36-month lease with fair market value purchase option. Businesses in the United States and Canada can take advantage of...

Tsuyoshi Kikukawa, president of the Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA), announced CIPA’s positive 2010 forecasts for digital cameras and related goods, as well as the organization’s shipment totals for 2009. In 2009, the cumulative total shipments of digital cameras, from January to December, reached 105.9 million units, exceeding the performance in 2007 for the third consecutive year, when shipments broke through the 100-million-unit mark for the first time since CIPA began compiling statistics. However, this represents a year-on-year decrease of 11.6% compared to 2008, when shipments exceeded 119 million units. A breakdown by camera segments shows that although shipments...

Kodak reported fourth-quarter 2009 earnings from continuing operations of $430 million, or $1.36 per share, compared with a loss on the same basis of $914 million, or $3.40 per share, in the year-ago period. 4Q sales were $2.58 billion, a sequential increase of 45% from 3Q 2009 and a 6% increase from the year-ago quarter. “Our momentum is returning and our strategy is paying off. During 2009, we generated significant traction with our key digital businesses, we achieved sustainable operational improvements across the company, our earnings improved substantially, and we ended the year with more than $2.0 billion in cash...

OmegaSatter and Brandess-Kalt-Aetna (BKA), both leading distributors to the photo industry, announced they are merging to form “one of the largest and most comprehensive distributors in the industry.”    The new organization, named OmegaBrandess Distribution, will be headquartered in Hampstead, Maryland. According to company representatives, the many complementary product lines carried by OmegaSatter and BKA are part of the appeal of the merger. The new organization will provide a single source for a wide variety of imaging brands available, including Pelican Cases, Novatron Lighting, Kodak, Gary Fong, Cokin, Blue Crane Digital and many others. “Each company brings strengths that together will...

By Biz Fast Tracker Barry Tanenbaum The operative word in the headline is “was.” Almost every dealer I talked with was glad to bid ’09 a not so fond adieu. And even though crossing from 2009 to 2010 has not much to do with marketing or sales and everything to do with record keeping and the symbolism of a line of demarcation, it seems that any line at all, symbolic or not, is enough. As one dealer said, “It’s a tough time to be in retail.” What I was looking for was their perceptions of 2009 and maybe a few high...

By Biz Fast Tracker Jerry Grossman You can call me a grizzly CES/PMA show veteran. Without revealing my age, my combined trips to both of these shows are nearing 25. And while CES and PMA have historically been very separate and distinct, the shift over the years in the imaging category to digital has annually raised the “why PMA?” questions. Well, after traveling the halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center from January 7–10, now more than ever I can see why the Consumer Electronics Show should never and will never replace the PMA trade show and convention. CES is a great, if...

Photo book software developer Taopix has started 2010 by signing more than 20 new licenses for its photo book software in the last four weeks. The orders, which have come from digital print companies and Photo Labs in all of Taopix’s key international markets, signals the beginning of what Taopix’s CEO James Gray believes will be a great year for the photo book industry. “Up until December 2009, Taopix had just under 100 photo book installations worldwide,” said Gray. “So to then secure a fifth of that number in just over four weeks is quite a milestone for the company. For...

After Circuit City closed in early 2009, consumer electronics retailers large and small have been trying to grab some of that company’s market share. Now, according to an article in CEPro, “All that biting has taken a toll on U.S. No. 1 electronics retailer Best Buy,” based on a recent survey by Retrevo. While CE giant Best Buy posted 13% overall growth and 8.2% comparable store sales increases for the fiscal month of December ended January 2, 2010, Retrevo’s survey reveals a change in consumer perception “that threatens to shrink Best Buy’s market share.” And it’s Amazon and Walmart that...

Kodak filed lawsuits against Apple Inc. and Research In Motion Limited (RIM), alleging the infringement of Kodak digital imaging technology. The complaint, filed with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), specifically claims that Apple’s iPhone and RIM’s camera-enabled BlackBerry devices infringe a Kodak patent that covers technology related to a method for previewing images. Separately, Kodak filed two suits against Apple in U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York that claim the infringement of patents related to digital cameras and certain computer processes. “Kodak has a long history of digital imaging innovation and we have invested hundreds of...