aboudd Posted May 3, 2012 Share #1 Â Posted May 3, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) A short article on the new Leica store at Everything Foto based on my visit today. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted May 3, 2012 Posted May 3, 2012 Hi aboudd, Take a look here Leica D.C. Store Open. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Jeff S Posted May 3, 2012 Share #2 Â Posted May 3, 2012 It's been open for a couple of weeks; yesterday was, however, the 'grand opening' event. When I called two weeks ago, they had some items, e.g., lenses, not readily available elsewhere. I suspect those might now be gone. They were also still discussing whether to offer certain services such as sensor cleaning, trade-ins, etc. Â Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockyIII Posted May 4, 2012 Share #3 Â Posted May 4, 2012 Does the new store have a website showing what they have in stock? Â Rocky Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff S Posted May 4, 2012 Share #4 Â Posted May 4, 2012 They have email and phone contact info to answer questions. Even if there was a website, which isn't referenced, one would never know without contact if an in-stock item was on hold for someone. Sites that have inventory are invariably behind the curve anyway; new stock comes and goes. Â Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
symmetron Posted May 4, 2012 Share #5  Posted May 4, 2012 I attended their opening the other night which included a cocktail party followed by a presentation by Peter Turnley. Of course there were grab bags with Leica-Magnum calendars, a Leica inscribed journal, and some exotic cupcakes (see below). Very nicely done. Glad to see that Leica is back. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/178658-leica-dc-store-open/?do=findComment&comment=2001160'>More sharing options...
M9reno Posted May 4, 2012 Share #6 Â Posted May 4, 2012 Would you admit to collecting that cupcake? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockyIII Posted May 4, 2012 Share #7 Â Posted May 4, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) Thanks Jeff. I sent an e-mail. Â Rocky Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJP Posted May 4, 2012 Share #8  Posted May 4, 2012 I attended <snip> some exotic cupcakes <snip>We need a box for this!!!!!! How many did you pretend to consume? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest stanjan0 Posted May 4, 2012 Share #9 Â Posted May 4, 2012 I can't understand why Leica opened a store in Washington DC because DC is primarily inhabited by low income people except for a small area inhabited by the very rich, plus the politicians who want things for nothing because of who they are. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted May 4, 2012 Share #10 Â Posted May 4, 2012 Leica mostly open stores in capital cities. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff S Posted May 4, 2012 Share #11 Â Posted May 4, 2012 I can't understand why Leica opened a store in Washington DC because DC is primarily inhabited by low income people except for a small area inhabited by the very rich, plus the politicians who want things for nothing because of who they are. Â DC is surrounded by some of the richest counties in the country (in Maryland and Virginia); in fact four of the top five, and two thirds of the top fifteen. Lots going on besides politics (although there's a lot of that going on too in many companies). Â Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
danedit28 Posted May 4, 2012 Share #12 Â Posted May 4, 2012 The median income in Washington DC is the highest of any major city in the country at over $85k. If you include the suburbs in the metroplex, DC overwhelmingly dominates the list of highest median incomes in the entire US. Â Sounds like someone is a little jealous.... Â I can't understand why Leica opened a store in Washington DC because DC is primarily inhabited by low income people except for a small area inhabited by the very rich, plus the politicians who want things for nothing because of who they are. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanG Posted May 4, 2012 Share #13 Â Posted May 4, 2012 The median income in Washington DC is the highest of any major city in the country at over $85k. If you include the suburbs in the metroplex, DC overwhelmingly dominates the list of highest median incomes in the entire US. Â Sounds like someone is a little jealous.... Â Yes, that's good for the enthusiast market for luxury goods. Plus do you have any idea how many photojournalists work out of DC? Â A report in the Sunday April 22nd. 2012 edition of The Washington Post... According to the article, the national average household income is $387,000 for those in the top one percent. In the D.C. metro area, it takes a household income of $527,000 to reach the top one percent. In the District, an income of $617,000 is needed to reach that level. Â In Montgomery County, Maryland, the highest local region outside of DC, household income must exceed $606,000 to be in the top one percent level. Â I live in Montgomery County and apparently I'm not going to make it into the top 1% any time soon. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gberger Posted May 4, 2012 Share #14 Â Posted May 4, 2012 Also, Fairfax County is home to the headquarters of many major high-tech companies. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnbuckley Posted May 4, 2012 Share #15 Â Posted May 4, 2012 All the talk about DC and income levels is good fun (it's a very wealthy and vibrant metropolitan region), but in addition to Andy's point -- Leica likes to open its stores in countries' capital cities -- there are a couple of factors, I bet, for why they chose DC to open this store: 1) perhaps second only to NY, there are more photojournalists in DC than another U.S. city, and 2) there are no really great camera stores in the District. Â I got my M8 and a number of lenses from Ace Photo, a wonderful store, but it is about 30 miles out in the Virginia suburbs. There is no store in the District or close-in suburbs that serves the community, and especially the Leica community. So they are not really competing with a well-positioned retail outfit here. Â Wow, 6 years ago we got a baseball team, and they're finally good. Now a Leica store. Things are looking up. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
aboudd Posted May 5, 2012 Author Share #16 Â Posted May 5, 2012 When I was at the store yesterday they had all of the Leica lenses and accessories for the S2 on display. I don't know whether they had back up inventory or not, but whatever the case, it was really sweet walking into a boutique Leica store that has knowledgeable people working there and actually get to handle the gear. It reminded me of the old days when Penn Camera occupied that block. Â I think they were taken aback when I walked in a few minutes after the 11AM opening Thursday morning and asked "Is this Best Buy?" Â To Stanjan0 - When were you last in Washington, D.C.? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanG Posted May 5, 2012 Share #17 Â Posted May 5, 2012 There is no store in the District or close-in suburbs that serves the community, and especially the Leica community. So they are not really competing with a well-positioned retail outfit here. Â My cousin owned Potomac Photo, a camera store in DC on Pennsylvania Ave. near the White House long ago. I worked there as a kid and dealt with all of the other family run camera stores in DC. There were quite a few fairly good stores in the city at one time. Hellers Camera in Bethesda was where Leica people went. (Other shops sold Leica too of course.) Haynes/Industrial Photo in Silver Spring did a large commercial, government, and retail business. National Camera in DC was owned by Charlie Sheerer and they repaired Leicas, Nikons, Hassies, etc. and sold gear too. Penn Camera went back a long way. Mark Weiss Camera was in the space once occupied by Mathew Brady and they found some of his old glass plates in the basement. Bakers Photo, National Camera and more had their locations bought up by Ritz that started out as a single store in DC. Â All of this changed of course mostly due to the lack of sales of film, processing and other material. (Plus competition in camera sales from big box retailers, NYC, and the internet.) I can tell you first hand that the profit at Potomac Photo came from film and processing sales. The cameras were mostly window dressing. Â Now Calumet has kept 3 former Penn Camera stores alive. I saw they had a new M9 in the box at the Tysons Corner store this week. No lenses for it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff S Posted May 5, 2012 Share #18 Â Posted May 5, 2012 Yep, Mr. Heller passed in 2004. I bought my first M there long ago. And following his stern advice, in thick Hungarian accent, I initially bought only Summicron lenses, which he used and thought everyone else should too! Â Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanG Posted May 5, 2012 Share #19  Posted May 5, 2012 Yep, Mr. Heller passed in 2004. I bought my first M there long ago. And following his stern advice, in thick Hungarian accent, I initially bought only Summicron lenses, which he used and thought everyone else should too! Jeff  He had quite a nice camera museum in that store. I always wondered what happened to it. I ride my bike by that location several times a week and think of him and that store sometimes. Washington DC businesses were mostly small time back then and it was much more of a laid back sleepy town than it is today.  I know Mo at Ace Photo and his store is like a throwback to those times except he has competitive prices and does internet sales. (Plus he has in-house processing.) They run classes too and he has quite a collection going. I can't say that I go into camera shops more than a few times a year now. I only stopped by Penn Camera out of curiosity to see how Calumet was changing it. I was at a party a few years ago and had a conversation with Max Zweig of Penn Camera. He told me that Penn had 300 employees at that time and it was pretty complicated to run the operation.  The Leica store is an entirely different concept. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff S Posted May 5, 2012 Share #20 Â Posted May 5, 2012 I'll be happy to shop at the Leica store and not at Ace, and not just because of location. Â Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.