Ritz Camera Centers Inc.
6711 Ritz Way
Beltsville, Md. 20705
www.ritzcamera.com Year founded: 1918 Industry: Retail Revenue: $1.20 Billion Net Income/Loss: n/a Earnings per share: n/a Dividend: n/a Stockholder equity: n/a Auditor: n/a Stock: Assets: n/a Market capitalization: n/a 52-week high: n/a 52-week low: n/a CEO: David M. Ritz President: Wade R. Mayberry Employees: n/a Local employees: n/a Description: The nation's largest camera and photo-processing retailer, Ritz operates more than 1,200 stores, including about 50 in the Washington area. The family-owned business also owns the Boaters World chain, which sells boating equipment and watersports supplies in 48 states. Developments: It started as a portrait studio in Atlantic City in 1918 and has weathered the changes in the photography business ever since. In the past four years, the company has faced one of its biggest challenges as digital cameras have become increasingly affordable—one of the biggest technological changes to hit the industry since the arrival of one-hour photo-finishing laboratories in the 1960s. Ritz has fully incorporated digital photography into its sales mix and has made a substantial investment, at a cost of more than $100,000 per store, to update its photo-processing equipment. Over the past 18 months, Ritz Camera also completed the integration of the Wolf Camera chain, adding a happy ending to what had been a bitter family squabble. In 1974, with David Ritz the rising heir-apparent to his father's photo business, his cousin, Chuck R. Wolf, sold off his company stock and launched a fast-growing rival photo chain he named for himself, sparking an intense corporate rivalry. Wolf Camera grew to more than 700 stores, then lost money and shrank in size. It filed for protection from its creditors in 2001, and David Ritz, who had become the original chain's chief executive, bought Wolf Camera's assets, took over 385 stores and hired the workers. Then Ritz hired Wolf back, naming him vice chairman for retail sales. With those two major initiatives completed, Ritz expects to begin more dramatic expansion by opening 35 to 40 stores in the next year.
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