Two of the biggest online camera shops, Wex Photographic and Calumet Photographic, have now merged. The Calumet web site has been closed with traffic being redirected to the Wex site. The business is now operating under the new name Wex Photo Video.
The Calumet shops will remain, and be rebadged over time. This means that Wex are now able to offer a click and collect service. With several stores spread throughout the country this should be a useful extra option.
Below is the full press release about the merger:
Press release: Wex Photographic and Calumet Photographic UK merge
Calumet Photographic UK website closed on 26th September
- Calumet Photographic’s UK business and Wex Photographic have merged to build a multi-channel offer for enthusiast and professional photographers and filmmakers
- On 26th September 2017, Calumet’s UK site was closed, with traffic redirected to www.wexphotographic.com
- Investment planned for Calumet UK stores, which will be rebadged under the Wex brand over the coming months
- The Calumet name will continue in the UK as an own-label brand for a range of accessories and studio equipment
London, 26th September 2017: With the acquisition of Wex Photographic by Aurelius Equity Opportunities in March 2017, we announced our intention to integrate Wex with Calumet’s UK arm, also owned by Aurelius, to create a single, market-leading business that will cater to the needs of a wide range of enthusiast and professional photographers.
As part of this integration, Calumet’s UK site at www.calphoto.co.uk was closed on 26th September 2017 and traffic was redirected to www.wexphotographic.com. The recently relaunched Wex website was chosen as the online channel for the combined business, largely due to the additional services and better functionality it offers customers.
From 26th September onwards, the combined business will offer a true omni-channel experience for customers in the UK across our popular website, nine shops and Norwich-based contact centre. Fixation, the market-leading repair business owned by Wex, will continue to serve its loyal customer base of professional photographers from its Kennington home, as well as working closely with Calumet branches to offer repair services through the combined business.
The Calumet stores will benefit from an extensive investment plan to improve our retail offer, including a development in people, improvements in shop fittings and customer comfort, and more stock. While this programme is rolled out, many of the stores will continue to trade under the ‘Calumet’ badge. However, all stores will ultimately trade under the Wex brand. Following extensive market research, Wex was found to be the better-known brand, being highly regarded across a range of important customer criteria.
The Calumet name will continue to have a presence in the UK through a range of own-label accessories and studio equipment, sold in-store and online.
Our sister businesses in Germany, Netherlands and Belgium will continue to trade across all channels as Calumet.
David Garratt, Chief Executive Officer at Wex, commented: “Our vision is to create the country’s best-loved photo and video retailer through reliably excellent service, range, convenience and advice. We will continue to work hard to help photographers and filmmakers of all abilities meet their objectives, whether online, in-store or on the phone.”
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