Bel Air Camera to close after decades in business

[Sirius Glass]

Bel Air Camera will close Wednesday due to declining sales, after 58 years in Westwood Village.

Bel Air Camera is the only camera store in Westwood and one of the Village’s oldest businesses. Fred Silvers, the store’s general manager and employee of 41 years, said the store’s management decided to close the store because sales weren’t high enough to maintain the store.

He attributed the store’s decline to rising competition from online retailers. He said he has seen more people buy cameras online or use their mobile phones to take photographs.

http://dailybruin.com/2015/12/22/bel-air-camera-to-close-after-decades-in-business/

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http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2015/12/bel-air_camera_in_westwoo.php

[John Kasaian]

Sad.

[ghostcount]

Sad indeed. :(

The Anderson School economist's comment "...thinks retail stores need to offer unique products or services to stay in business". Perhaps they should not have concentrated on items such as GoPro cameras. :p They'd probably made more money if they converted it into a parking lot - not enough parking on Gayley.

[Kevin Crisp]

When I was starting out in LF, I got a great deal of skilled guidance from salesman Dave Levine at Bel Air. He helped on everything from LF lens selection to how to load film holders. He went from there to PIX. Then the whole professional film department kind of disappeared and the traditional darkroom supplied became fewer and fewer and I rarely went back. They face the classic Best Buy conundrum: people check out what they want in person then go home and find it on line for $20 less and buy it.

[Sirius Glass]

Sad indeed. :(

The Anderson School economist's comment "...thinks retail stores need to offer unique products or services to stay in business". Perhaps they should not have concentrated on items such as GoPro cameras. :p They'd probably made more money if they converted it into a parking lot - not enough parking on Gayley.

There is multistory two hour free parking a block away on Broxton Avenue.