Nezar Khajah
Multimedia Artist
Las Vegas, Nevada
Born in Kuwait, Nezar Khajar was a videographer in his native country before migrating to Las Vegas more than 20 years ago.
“I used to hang around with a crazy crew of artists in my home country, and I found the same ugly bunch in Las Vegas,” he notes with good-natured sarcasm. “Anyway, I picked Vegas because it’s not California; I couldn't stand those LA traffic jams, and Sandy Hackett, comedian Buddy Hackett’s son, is an old buddy of mine and offered me a good job here.
“I came to CES looking for video equipment and accessories to expand my video-shooting capabilities, because versatility is essential in my business. I do a wide range of video work, from documentaries and entertainment programming for TV to commercials. I have shows on channel 3, which is NBC, and provide video for local channels. I also have my own live cable show every Friday.
“The new Steadicam Solo I found here at the Tiffen booth intrigues me because it can be used as a sturdy monopod as well as an effective image stabilization device. And with a price less than $500, it’s certainly affordable. Some of my video cameras, like the Panasonic 500 SCE, exceed the Solo’s 10-pound load capacity, but I think I’ll be able to put it to good use with my lighter rigs.
“Speaking of lightweight video cameras, I do a lot of work with the GoPro, which is why I’m impressed with the new Steadicam Curve as well. It seems like a good solution when I’m not mounting the GoPro on my mini remote-controlled helicopter to shoot car commercials. Whatever happens, I will continue to shoot promotions for leading Las Vegas hotels, including the Stratosphere and the Quad (formerly the Imperial Palace.)
“Just mentioning that reminds me that Las Vegas itself is very much like the consumer electronics industry; it is constantly reinventing itself in order to remain vibrant and viable—not only because it wants to, but because it has to. I guess that also explains why I’m always searching for something ingenious, whether it’s a camera, lens or accessory, that will let me do something new in order to stay ahead of the curve.”
Victor Beck
Chief Operating Officer
YourElectronicsOutlet.com, Phoenix, Arizona
YourElectronicsOutlet.com is a family-owned e-tail business that was founded only two years ago but is making steady progress under the provocative tagline “Your Wish List Made Affordable.” It’s a slogan that reflects COO Victor Beck’s philosophy.
“What we sell is very much influenced by the requests of our customers, so long as they are quality products,” observes Beck. “We offer a very diverse CE product line that includes a wide range of Casio point-and-shoot cameras, Samsung Android cell phones and Apple iPhone accessories (but not iPhones).
“Our customers have been expressing a lot of interest in GoPro cameras, and that’s why we’ve decided to carry the line. At the moment my son Eric, the president of the company, and I are here checking out the new Steadicam Curve video stabilization device.
“We’re a totally Internet business, and our inventory is minimal, since about 95% of what we sell is drop-shipped directly to the customer. That gives us the flexibility to sell small accessories like the Curve, as well large items like LG’s new 4K TV that we were just checking out.
“In general, the e-tail business model has worked very well for us. We started out slowly, but business has been building nicely due to our cautious approach—low inventory and low overhead.
“I guess you could call YourElectronicsOutlet.com a broad-spectrum consumer electronics retailer that is basically following the trends by taking the lead from our customers. Pursuing a more aggressive retailing policy might produce faster growth, but as someone racing a rabbit once said, slow and steady wins the race.”
