Calumet Photo closes US stores, files for bankruptcy... didn't tell employees

Calumet in Europe is a different company. Only the US Calumet has gone bust. If you look on the any of the European Calumet web sites as normal you will note the Link to the US part has gone but everything else is OK.

Most of the stuff has manufacturers warranties anyway. All my Nikon kit I got from Calumet came with the standard 2 year Nikon warranty. I can't see why you would not continue to buy from Calumet?

Big corporations separate out national divisions for just this reason (also taxes and other liabilities) so that if one part sinks it does not affect the other parts.
 
jagraphics said:
I can't see why you would not continue to buy from Calumet?
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Depends on the product you bought. Some products want to you to return a DOA item to the store you bought it from, others want you to send it back to the manufacture.

But I could really see the reason for not buying from European Calumet stores is just because of the fact that the US Calument store didn't give their employee's any notice that they were closing down. Yes, they're different companies... but since they share the same name I don't see it as unfair to take your business away from the Euro stores for what happened at the US stores.
 
zijital said:
Depends on the product you bought. Some products want to you to return a DOA item to the store you bought it from, others want you to send it back to the manufacture.

But I could really see the reason for not buying from European Calumet stores is just because of the fact that the US Calument store didn't give their employee's any notice that they were closing down. Yes, they're different companies... but since they share the same name I don't see it as unfair to take your business away from the Euro stores for what happened at the US stores.
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The employment laws are very different in Europe to the US. As are the way the stores were run. The decisions on closure would have been made by the US management so your argument does not hold water. If we did what you are suggesting no one would buy from any US owned store (or any chain that had shops/offices in the US) outside the US.
 
jagraphics said:
The employment laws are very different in Europe to the US. As are the way the stores were run. The decisions on closure would have been made by the US management so your argument does not hold water. If we did what you are suggesting no one would buy from any US owned store (or any chain that had shops/offices in the US) outside the US.
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My understanding is that the money always flows up. You can have a dozen "different" companies, but the money goes to the top. Whoever is at the very top of the pyramid made the decision to close the US stores w/o notice & to keep the European stores open and made that decision based on their own financial interests.

If that person, or persons don't exist, then my argument doesn't hold water. But I have a hard time believing that there would be no one at the very top of the Calumet food chain.

So then I think my argument sends the message that consumers expect a level of decency from global companies, even if they are "different" companies, consumers can see through the paper work & will hold companies accountable to all of their actions that are under their umbrella.
 
zijital said:
My understanding is that the money always flows up. You can have a dozen "different" companies, but the money goes to the top. Whoever is at the very top of the pyramid made the decision to close the US stores w/o notice & to keep the European stores open and made that decision based on their own financial interests.

If that person, or persons don't exist, then my argument doesn't hold water. But I have a hard time believing that there would be no one at the very top of the Calumet food chain.

So then I think my argument sends the message that consumers expect a level of decency from global companies, even if they are "different" companies, consumers can see through the paper work & will hold companies accountable to all of their actions that are under their umbrella.
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The problem is still with the US employment laws not the company. What you need to do id bring the US Employment laws up to the same standard as European ones?
 
I'm pretty amazed they made it this long. I went into the store in Philly about 5 years ago. Dead quiet, bad location, with unhelpful, snobby staff. If the other stores were at all similar, it seems the writing was on the wall long ago.
 
jagraphics said:
The problem is still with the US employment laws not the company.
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While I agree the US needs some re-vamping to some employment laws, not everything is solved through more legislation. Too much legislation & we start to lose our freedom and / or we get bogged down in bureaucracy that it is next to impossible to truly have freedom.

I think companies should have a right to be jerks to their employees, but I also think that consumers have the power to reward companies who treat their employees well, which then incentives other companies to treat their employees well.

US laws didn't force Calumet not to notify their employees. Calumet chose their actions on their own accord. Blaming the laws instead of the company I feel is a cop out.

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Personally if, say, Apple started manufacturing the next iPhone in a country that had no laws about worker's safety, because that country had no laws. And because Apple knew lots of people would get sick from mercury poisoning from unsafe iPhone manufacturing conditions? Who's fault is that? Who would you hold accountable? Is Apple off the hook because they didn't break any laws? Is it OK if Apple just made a "different" company that did the manufacturing?

Just because something is legal, doesn't mean it is the right thing to do. And if the tables were turned & Calumet shut down all European stores, leaving their customers & employees hung out to dry, I would think twice before I shopped at Calumet again.

And Calumet was the biggest camera store in my city, so if I stopped shopping there, it would probably mean I'd have to shop completely online. But I'd probably think that it was the right thing to do. And I wouldn't feel good about giving more money to a company that didn't respect their employees or customers.
 
jagraphics said:
The problem is still with the US employment laws not the company. What you need to do id bring the US Employment laws up to the same standard as European ones?
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Laws or not, the US actions are a direct reflection of the character of those running the company.
 
Samuel H said:
Any comments on the Calumet Bravo 300 and 1000 lights?
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I haven't used either of these lights, so I can't speak to them specifically, but one of the biggest things that I think about when buying lights is to think about the long term investment.

Lights don't go bad, they don't get updated every 2 years like cameras. (Only exception could be for LED lights which are still in their infancy, so we see advances year after year...) When I buy a light, I'm thinking that I could have that light for 10 or 20 years if I purchase a quality fixture. And while a light can last 20+ years (or much more), you'll have to replace different parts here & there. Because of this I stick with brands that I know I can get replacement parts so when a power cable goes bad, or a screw falls off, I can get just that part & keep using the light for years & years.

I don't have a lot of faith in Calumet's Europe's stores, or the Calumet branded products. Even if the stores are still open in 10 years, will they still be carrying all the same Calumet branded products? I wonder if the European stores can sell enough of the Calumet products w/o the added sales of the US stores to make it profitable to keep selling those Calumet products.

If you're only planning on using those lights for a year or two, sure buy 'em. But if you want something that is going to last a long time I'd suggest looking at the brands that have been selling the same fixtures for decades like Arri or Lowel.
 
Thanks. Sounds very reasonable. My first choice were the Lowel Pro Lights, since they got some very positive comments in these boards, and I don't need strong lights (I was aiming at the 300W calumets rather than the 1000W), just something that's small and cheap and puts out some good quality light that can be controlled. Trouble is, prolights are hard to find in this side of the pond, and expensive when found (not actually expensive, just much more expensive than they are in the US; I may have to force my mind to forget about the US price and just buy those...)
 
It now seems there are still 18 Calphoto.co.uk stores in Europe (note the change of URL name) and 3 calumetphoto.com in the USA. The links between the two have appear to have been severed when the US Calumet went bankrupt.

From what has been said in this thread it seems that the US and European stores were run very differently and with a very different ethos. In the UK at least they are seen as a place with knowledgable staff where professionals go. The Calumet staff I have met were either photography undergraduates (holiday/week end jobs) or freelance photographers outside working at the store.

I would think that you could safely order calumet brand stuff from the European Calumet web sites but the Atlantic is wide and the cost of oil/fuel high so shipping may make it impractical.
 
I have been told by a camera store manager that Calumet has been bought by the company that bought Wolf Cameras in the US. Same company that bought a camera bag company, I think its Tamrac? Also same company that owns the Polaroid branded camera accessories.
 
zijital said:
I haven't used either of these lights, so I can't speak to them specifically, but one of the biggest things that I think about when buying lights is to think about the long term investment.

Lights don't go bad, they don't get updated every 2 years like cameras. (Only exception could be for LED lights which are still in their infancy, so we see advances year after year...) When I buy a light, I'm thinking that I could have that light for 10 or 20 years if I purchase a quality fixture. And while a light can last 20+ years (or much more), you'll have to replace different parts here & there. Because of this I stick with brands that I know I can get replacement parts so when a power cable goes bad, or a screw falls off, I can get just that part & keep using the light for years & years.

I don't have a lot of faith in Calumet's Europe's stores, or the Calumet branded products. Even if the stores are still open in 10 years, will they still be carrying all the same Calumet branded products? I wonder if the European stores can sell enough of the Calumet products w/o the added sales of the US stores to make it profitable to keep selling those Calumet products.

If you're only planning on using those lights for a year or two, sure buy 'em. But if you want something that is going to last a long time I'd suggest looking at the brands that have been selling the same fixtures for decades like Arri or Lowel.
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Add K5600 to that.
 
Having had a chat with some Calumet staff in Europe this week it seems that Calumet was effectively two companys. The European side and the US side. They were both run VERY differently according to US and EU legal/business rules and social customs. Calumet EU was always profitable and a place for professionals. The US Calumet was not. Where the EU Calumet is going from strength to strength the US Calumet apparently never really made a profit.

So I would say rather than ask if Calumet (EU) js going to last 1 years the question should be where will it have expanded to in 10 years.
 
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