Photo retailer, Calumet, has filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy and closed all of its US stores (the UK Calumet brand is an entirely different company). Employees found out early this morning when they were told not to come to work or arrived at work to find the store was closed.
Reports note that employees are waiting on paychecks and, in some cases, permission to go back inside stores to pick up their personal belongings. Additionally, there is plenty of confusion surrounding equipment that is out on rental and customer cameras that were left at stores for repair. It’s also tough luck for photographers who have scheduled rentals today or later this week. It is unfortunate to see so many employees and photographers so negatively affected by Calumet’s closing.
The fact that Calumet filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, however, is a telling sign of just how dire things were for the company. Chapter 7 means all of the assets of the company will be liquidated in order to pay the remaining debt, which appears to substantially outweigh the assets. The bankruptcy petition lists Calumet’s assets at $0-$50,000, while the liabilities are listed at more than $1,000,000.
Canon, Mamiya, Profoto, Fuji, Phase One, GoPro, Tiffen, Tamrac, Think Tank Photo, Adobe, Nikon and Redrock Micro are several of the photo industry creditors, along with over 500 others, listed in the bankruptcy petition.
You can read a behind-the-scenes account from a Calumet Rental Manager here on PetaPixel.
Support your brick and mortar stores.
Although, if the interview is accurate, they seemed to have a problem maintaining stock, which is the very reason to go to a physical location.
Still… Very sad to read.