After 50 successful years, family-run photographic retailer Park Cameras has passed on the reins of its business to its team following the sale of investors shares to its employees.
By becoming an employee ownership trust (EOT), Park Cameras hopes to help retain, incentivise and reward its team of 65 staff as well as provide long-term sustainability for the company. It also plans to expand its team and increase sales instore and online.
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Roscoe Atkins, owner and current managing director, said: “Our family of employees are the heart and soul of the business. Our continuous success and growth over the coming years rests on our experts, so we decided to turn Park Cameras into a fully employee-owned business.
"The EOT will give us the chance to unlock value within the company and enable the team to become more invested both financially and emotionally in the business, while ensuring we never lose sight of what Park Cameras is renowned for.”
Buying and selling used cameras is an expanding arm to the business, and Park Cameras expects to double sales of used stock at its stores in central London and Burgess Hill in the next two years. The business has won more than 100 awards for its customer service over the years and aims to add to this impressive collection in the near future.
Roscoe continues: “Despite a challenging period during the pandemic, we have increased revenue by 65% over the last five years. Thanks to the continued development of online sales, advancements of camera and lens technology and the EOT, we envisage a further growth of over 50% in the next two years.”
Founded in 1971 by Reg Atkins in Burgess Hill, West Sussex, Park Cameras launched with just £500, largely invested in a range of second-hand stock. With a goal ‘to provide good honest, friendly advice from one photographer to another’, Reg grew the business with friends and family members. In 2013, his son Roscoe officially took over the reins and immediately expanded the business by opening a large store in central London.
For more information about Park Cameras and its product range visit its website.
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