Polaroid paves the way back to bricks and mortar
Polaroid is looking to make a comeback with a foray into bricks and mortar. The down-but-not-quite-out instant photo pioneer is teaming with Fotobar to open 10 “experiential retail stores” in 2013.
The idea is to get customers' photos out of the digital realm and let customers “quickly and easily liberate their favorite images from the confines of their digital devices and turn them into museum-quality art.”
“There are currently around 1.5 billion pictures taken every single day, and that number continues to grow in tandem with the popularity and quality of camera phones,” said Warren Struhl, founder and CEO of Fotobar, LLC, in a press release. “Unfortunately, even the very best of those pictures rarely ever escape the camera phone with which they were taken to be put on display around our homes and offices. Why? Because turning those pictures into something tangible, creative, and permanent is neither easy nor fun. Polaroid Fotobar stores are going to change all of that.”
“Polaroid has always been about much more than just taking pictures,” added Polaroid president and CEO Scott W. Hardy. “Polaroid is about sharing life’s most precious and memorable moments. We have been, and continue to be, about self‑expression, creativity and fun. Polaroid Fotobar retail stores represent a perfect modern expression of the values for which we have stood for 75 years. We are very excited about the opening of these stores, and the opportunities they will create for millions of consumers to have classic Polaroid experiences.”
The first store—a 2,000 square-foot facility in Delray Beach, FL, is slated to open in February of 2013. Customers will be able to upload their images wirelessly to one of the store's workstations, where the photos can be enhanced using photo-effect technologies to apply red-eye correction and filters and to adjust contrast and brightness.
Customers can choose from a wide variety of substrates—including canvas, metal, acrylic, wood and bamboo—and framing options for their individual works. Writing in Slate, Will Oremus said Struhl told him that basic Polaroid-style printouts will start at about $15 and be ready at the store within a few minutes. Prints on exotic materials or with framing and matting will ship from a manufacturing facility within a few days.
“The ability to see, touch, and feel examples of artworks produced using all of these unique materials is a critical aspect of the customer experience,” Polaroid said. “As such, each Polaroid Fotobar store will be a gallery of its own, with creative, museum-quality pieces on display all around.”
Oremus in Slate noted that the retail-store approach would impose high over head, adding, “…there’s a good chance the project will ultimately go bust. But I hope that doesn’t happen before I get the chance to try one out. Having lost its way in a high-tech world, Polaroid is going back to 'high touch.' If it succeeds, the company will have pulled off a feat that few foresaw: returning to relevance in the age of Instagram.”
As for me, I hope a shop opens up in Cambridge.