Fairfield, NJ—Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company unveiled its first Lumix Lounge store-within-a-store in the United States at the 50,000-square-foot Unique Photo superstore in Fairfield, New Jersey, on May 12, 2014.
In addition to launching the lifestyle concept retail outlet, Newark, New Jersey-based Panasonic debuted its recently announced Lumix DMC-GH4 hybrid photo/video camera, which features cutting-edge 4K technology.
The launch event put products directly into the hands of consumers in a brick-and-mortar setting while also reaching millions of others through social media; the announcement was broadcast live on Google+ through a hangout (plus.google.com/u/0/+UniquePhotoFairfield/posts).
“We’re proud to be selected as the site of Panasonic’s new concept store; we’re all about getting cameras and related products directly into the hands of our customers so they can make informed decisions about their purchases,” said Matt Sweetwood, president of Unique Photo, the largest camera store in New Jersey and DIR’s 2013 Dealer of the Year. “The new Lumix Lounge will provide added value to our shoppers’ experience in our store.” Unique Photo is located at 123 U.S. Highway 46 West in Fairfield, New Jersey.
The 750-square-foot Lumix Lounge provides consumers with the opportunity to learn about, demo and purchase Panasonic’s latest Lumix products, in addition to new audio, adventure and massage chair products, in one setting. Among the featured products are headphones, portable audio, mobile power, smartphone Bluetooth connected-home solutions and lifestyle-based products. The Lumix Lounge also includes Unique Photo’s new coffee bar and provides a comfortable setting for photography enthusiasts to share and exchange ideas.
The Lumix Lounge at Unique Photo will also serve as a location for Panasonic to continue to be more engaged with the photo community through social media and future Google+ hangouts.
“Panasonic innovates a wide range of products that enhance many facets of consumers’ lives,” said Julie Bauer, president of Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company. “Unique Photo is the ideal retailer to debut our first Lumix Lounge and showcase our wide range of cutting-edge consumer products in a way that lets consumers get hands-on with our products. We are very pleased to partner with Unique Photo to drive creative experiential initiatives in the ever-changing retail dynamic.”
A recognized marketing innovator within the $89.6 billion photo-imaging industry, Sweetwood is no stranger to having an in-house brand store on site: Unique Photo is home to the first T-Mobile store-within-a-store in the Northeast. Panasonic and T-Mobile provide new revenue streams and allow Sweetwood to maximize his store’s large floor plan.
“It’s all about bringing together the synergies of how today’s consumers take pictures,” added Sweetwood. “Our business was started more than 65 years ago on the concept of meeting the needs of our customers. The new Lumix Lounge is the next evolution in doing so.”
To kick off Panasonic’s expansion of 4K (4,000 pixel) products, the company launched its new Lumix GH4 camera. Named Best Hybrid Photo/Video Camera by the Technical Image Press Association, the GH4 removes the gap between consumer and professional video cameras by providing an affordable camera with 4K video recording capabilities and high-resolution image quality.
Named the 2013 Dealer of the Year by Digital Imaging Reporter magazine, Unique Photo’s ultramodern, 50,000-square-foot facility is equipped with a spacious retail space with 20,000 items from all of the leading brands, a multimedia classroom and digital learning lab, a professional photo lab, a rental center and gourmet coffee bar. A leading source of photography education in the U.S., more than 1,000 people each month take classes through the store’s Unique University, which teaches aspiring beginners and professional photographers technical aspects in digital photography, lighting techniques, Photoshop and wedding photography, as well as the basics of how to use digital cameras and the best ways to print and store images. uniquephoto.com and lumixlounge.com
