dkCambridgeshire Posted March 14, 2011 Share #1 Posted March 14, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) Just listened to BBC Radio 4 interview with the proprietor of Kingsley Photographic on Tottenham Court Road - one of the London Leica dealers but maybe not a Leica Premier Dealership. The company has gone into liquidation a few days ago and all the stock has been cleared. The family business had occupied the same shop since the mid 1960s but was having problems procuring stock because "suppliers prefer dealing with the multiples" ( but expect the comment applied to non-Leica suppliers) . The rent for the shop was £65000 pa plus rates of £24000 ... add on utilities and staff costs and one can see how difficult it is to make ends meet. The owner remarked about 'customers' seeking his advice - and then buying the camera demonstrated on the internet. The shop always had an interesting selection of both new and used equipment including Leica and will be missed by many enthusiast photographers. Sad to hear the news. dunk Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted March 14, 2011 Posted March 14, 2011 Hi dkCambridgeshire, Take a look here Kingsley Photographic in liquidation. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
andybarton Posted March 14, 2011 Share #2 Posted March 14, 2011 That's a shame. I've bought a couple of lenses from them over the years. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgk Posted March 14, 2011 Share #3 Posted March 14, 2011 The owner remarked about 'customers' seeking his advice - and then buying the camera demonstrated on the internet. At one time there were a number of dealers on Tottenham Court Road but this has shrunk over the years and Kingsley were one of the last although I think a couple of smaller, not so specialist dealers were still there when I last visited. But I have heard the comment above from other dealers too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkCambridgeshire Posted March 14, 2011 Author Share #4 Posted March 14, 2011 Morgan Camera Co. was situated on the opposite side of the road to Kingsley a few years back ... it was a haven for the vintage Leica collectors. Morgan Computers evolved from Morgan Camera Co ... "Morgan started life as a secondhand camera shop in Tottenham Court Road some 30 years ago. Since 1983 we have traded in surplus and end-of-line computer equipment. The ageing Leicas and Nikons have now made way for Toshibas, HPs, Acers and the like ... " Sign of the times ... dunk Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrh68uk Posted March 14, 2011 Share #5 Posted March 14, 2011 Sad indeed. I used to visit pretty much every time I went to London (I don't get to go very much at all these days, but used to quite regularly). I was more into Nikon at the time and would scour their used displays as well as new. The staff were friendly and very helpful. It must be hugely frustrating for them and other dealers when people use their time to demo equipment and provide advice, only to go and buy from a faceless internet site for the sake of saving a few quid. A real shame to see another independent (family) business go. As a side note, talking of procuring stock, I asked my nearest independent camera dealer recently whether they'd be able to get any Leica in. The answer was no, because Leica won't supply to them unless they were in a position to be able to stock and sell 80-90% of the entire catalogue. Interesting how that differs to, say, Nikon. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgk Posted March 14, 2011 Share #6 Posted March 14, 2011 As a side note, talking of procuring stock, I asked my nearest independent camera dealer recently whether they'd be able to get any Leica in. The answer was no, because Leica won't supply to them unless they were in a position to be able to stock and sell 80-90% of the entire catalogue. Interesting how that differs to, say, Nikon. I'm far from sure that there are many existing Leica dealers who could manage to stock such an amount of Leica equipment - this sounds a little dubious to me I'm afraid. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted March 14, 2011 Share #7 Posted March 14, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) I bought some processing gear/chemicals/film from Kingsley at the end of last year. Shame they've thrown the towel it, possibly a little prematurely as Jessops on Tottenham Court Rd no longer stock anything like that, and Jacobs have very little. There is certainly a place for the niche retailer. I'd say the internet is mostly to blame for their demise, people using them for advice/demo's and then buying online, it's so shortsighted. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted March 14, 2011 Share #8 Posted March 14, 2011 Leica used to have a "minimum stock" requirement, that included R cameras and lenses (back in the day, even though dealers might sell one unit per year). The amount of stock that they insisted dealers to hold was in the tens of thousands of pounds worth. That is why many smaller Leica dealers dropped the account (or were dropped from the account) a few years ago. I believe that requirement has now been relaxed somewhat - especially since stock is very hard to come by - but Leica will no doubt be being very careful about the covenant of their authorised dealers in today's market. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted March 14, 2011 Share #9 Posted March 14, 2011 I'd say the internet is mostly to blame for their demise, people using them for advice/demo's and then buying online, it's so shortsighted. Agreed. We have had people posting here, advocating the practice, and also trying out kit that they had no intention of buying, by making use of some dealers' "28 day, no questions" return policy. This is the result. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wattsy Posted March 14, 2011 Share #10 Posted March 14, 2011 The rent for the shop was £65000 pa plus rates of £24000 ... add on utilities and staff costs and one can see how difficult it is to make ends meet. I'll say! I had no idea rents and rates would be that high for such a modestly sized shop (I'm obviously not in the retail business). I haven't bought much from Kingsley (a 50/F1.4 ASPH when they first came out and one or two less expensive items since) but it's a pity that another of the smaller independent dealers has gone. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkCambridgeshire Posted March 14, 2011 Author Share #11 Posted March 14, 2011 The first item I bought from Kingsley, way back in 1984, was a Krokus copy stand - and it's still in use. The gentleman who served me then was working in R G Lewis over 20 years later ... London camera store staff are often seen working in different outlets as the years go by. dunk Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
spylaw4 Posted March 14, 2011 Share #12 Posted March 14, 2011 <snip> London camera store staff are often seen working in different outlets as the years go by. dunk Indeed! It is sad to see Kingsley go even though they were a dealer that I did not have many dealings with - one lens IIRC - but I always examined their window display every time I passed by. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
viramati Posted March 14, 2011 Share #13 Posted March 14, 2011 I agree, sad to see them go. I got my 50 1.4 asph from them last year when no one else had one. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noctilux4me Posted March 14, 2011 Share #14 Posted March 14, 2011 As long as Leica continues to struggle on the supply chain for lenses, you can expect more and more of these small stores to go out of business... Leica may soon have the unintended consequence of having a distribution channel filled only by large retailers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted March 14, 2011 Share #15 Posted March 14, 2011 Kingsley sold a whole load of other stuff than just Leica gear, I don't think the shortage of a few lenses had anything to do with their demise. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thighslapper Posted March 14, 2011 Share #16 Posted March 14, 2011 I agree, sad to see them go. I got my 50 1.4 asph from them last year when no one else had one. Ditto with a 75/2. Nice friendly people to deal with. Not many left like that.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkCambridgeshire Posted March 14, 2011 Author Share #17 Posted March 14, 2011 The interview on today's Radio 4 'You and Yours' programme can be heard again BBC iPlayer - You and Yours: 14/03/2011 ... and I think they mentioned the name of the liquidator ... 26.50 mins. into the programme dunk Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gyoung Posted March 14, 2011 Share #18 Posted March 14, 2011 Morgan Camera Co. was situated on the opposite side of the road to Kingsley a few years back ... it was a haven for the vintage Leica collectors. Morgan Computers evolved from Morgan Camera Co ... "Morgan started life as a secondhand camera shop in Tottenham Court Road some 30 years ago. Since 1983 we have traded in surplus and end-of-line computer equipment. The ageing Leicas and Nikons have now made way for Toshibas, HPs, Acers and the like ... " Sign of the times ... dunk Last time I had a poke round the dealers in London a few weeks ago I couldn't find much Leica in Kingsley, and the Morgan shop in Holborn which has been full of opld computer stuff was empty, I hadn't realised they were connected to the photo company. Gerry Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ho_co Posted March 14, 2011 Share #19 Posted March 14, 2011 Always sad to see a stalwart old-timer fail. Interesting to hear of a dealer moving from cameras to computers. OT but related, there's a store in Waco, Texas that started more than a century ago as a saddle- and bridle-maker, moved into photography, and is now working also in home entertainment. There's a very brief company history at Padgitt's history. Sometimes you can ride the waves, and sometimes you can't. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
giordano Posted March 15, 2011 Share #20 Posted March 15, 2011 Dixons in the UK began as a photo business, started selling new and used cameras in the 1950s, and since the 60s has become a big chain retailer of electronic gadgetry including cameras - but definitely not a camera store. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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