Sad day for Chas eagles camera shop

While the growth of internet shopping and camera phones provided competition, the deaths of his father aged 94 in 2019 and son Charles, 52, who lost his battle with cancer in 2018, were more significant factors.
 
So you didn't read the article then?
First camera in their closing down, everything must go SALE is still £40 more expensive than einfinity the first lens I see is £175 cheaper on einfinity........ of course it has no effect on the business, why would it.!
 
Just had a quick look hoping to spot a bargain. No, a little on the expensive side.
 
Their website says.

"There is an ideal chance to grab a bargain while saying goodbye to a Sunderland institution."

Even what they call bargain prices, prices are still a little on the high side.
 
Their website says.

"There is an ideal chance to grab a bargain while saying goodbye to a Sunderland institution."

Even what they call bargain prices, prices are still a little on the high side.
That's been my feeling since the first time I entered their emporium as a schoolboy in about 1986 (always keener prices in the 6 or 7 independent stores in Newcastle - they're all gone bar D&P in Gosforth that lives on as LCE).

Historically Chas Eagles had quite a narrow range too, so it was always a last resort to me (even when I worked nearby), but rarely came up with the goods. It is sad that it's going for those that relied on it for those emergency purchases - my biggest surprise, having moved away from the area was that it was still going.
 
I recall seeing adverts in the photographic press during the 1970s but I thought they were for a company in Scotland. Not sure if I'm misremembering or there was another company with the same name.
 
First camera in their closing down, everything must go SALE is still £40 more expensive than einfinity the first lens I see is £175 cheaper on einfinity........ of course it has no effect on the business, why would it.!
And their closing down prices are still more expensive than Amazon.

The article mentions 2 contributing factors:
1) Previous family deaths
2) Online market

It’s not being able to compete with the likes of Amazon rather than E-infinity that is one of the issues.
 
Probably difficult for them to compete when so many are prepared to dodge the VAT on foreign imports :)
This is getting a touch tedious now.

The whole high street has been under threat for years and they must either evolve or die. Nostalgia aside the relevance of the high street is waning and whether you like it or not the shopping habits of the public have changed. I’m surprised they have lasted so long tbh when much bigger chains have gone bust due to the transition (and that’s what it is) to online sales.
 
’It's not being able to compete with the likes of Amazon rather than E-infinity that is one of the issues.
Personal past experience of Chas Eagles suggests that they couldn't compete with their immediate b&m competition on price, however they have outlasted most of them so clearly they were doing something right.

I did also read somewhere that the staff were exploring the possibility of opening a "photo-related" business - so maybe out of the ashes...
 
This is getting a touch tedious now.

The whole high street has been under threat for years and they must either evolve or die. Nostalgia aside the relevance of the high street is waning and whether you like it or not the shopping habits of the public have changed. I’m surprised they have lasted so long tbh when much bigger chains have gone bust due to the transition (and that’s what it is) to online sales.
Retail is not in a good position, online sales are of course part of that problem, but if people can simply import from anywhere on the planet without the correct procedures then this will ultimately have a devastating effect to retail both bricks and mortar alike. And not just the retailers, the associated businesses as well, such as product photographers.
 
It isn't just about high streets it is about community and socialisation and belonging. The kind of things that made the human race what we are.
 
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