Boulder, CO—Mike’s Camera, with three locations in the Boulder-Denver, Colorado, area is expanding its regional presence with new store openings in five locations in Colorado and another five in Northern California—all previously operated by Ritz Camera & Image, according to The Gazette of Colorado Springs.
Ritz, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the second time in June 2012 and received permission from a bankruptcy judge in September to liquidate, closed its remaining 137 stores after it was unable to find a buyer at auction. Seven stores in Colorado were shuttered, including the Colorado Springs store at Academy Boulevard and Constitution Avenue. That store has now reopened as a Mike’s Camera location.
“Colorado Springs is a market we’d been looking at for a number of years,” Alex Christianian, chief operating officer of Mike’s Camera, told The Gazette. “It was a matter of great timing. We love the Colorado Springs market. We think it really fits our target demographic.”
Mike’s other new Colorado stores will be located in Wheat Ridge, Thornton, Greenwood Village and downtown Denver. While Mike’s assumed the leases and is taking on much of the former staff from the 10 closed Ritz stores, it did not buy any of the merchandise. When all of the new Mike’s Camera stores are open, “we will have hired close to 100 employees,” Christianian said.
Since its beginnings in 1967, Mike’s Camera has had a history of outstanding customer service, which resulted in wide community and industry recognition. Its success is also based on stocking a complete selection of photo and video cameras and picture-taking accessories, as well as offering a full range of photo-processing services. Additionally, it is integral to the philosophy of Mike’s Camera to back the product and service offerings by an expert, friendly staff. Family-run Mike’s Camera earned the prestigious Photofinisher of the Year Award from Photo Industry Reporter in 2007.
Several other former Ritz Camera & Image locations are slated to be reopened by C&A Marketing, a global distributor of digital cameras, camcorders and related accessories that acquired Ritz’s website, the RitzPix online print-ordering business and several of its biggest stores.
