J&R Opens Consumer/Pro Photo Location

NEW YORK— With New York's Governor George Pataki and Mayor Michael Bloomberg in attendance, J&R Music/Computer World opened its first department devoted solely to consumer-level and professional photography at its unique Park Row location, last week.

J&R's photography location is the latest in a series of storefronts it operates on the historic block which covers consumer electronics, computers and entertainment software, among others. Park Row is opposite City Hall and within a block and a half of the former World Trade Center site.

The new photography area will feature two 4,000 square-foot floors, one for consumer level products and the other for professional photography equipment and supplies.

According to co-owner Rachelle Friedman, consumer level digital cameras have been an excellent growth category for J&R's computer area since it opened several years ago. Since then J&R decided to dedicate more room to the burgeoning category.

The main floor will feature every major camera brand including Nikon, Canon, Olympus, and Minolta and a host of photographic accessories including flash memory, frames and albums. It will also feature two Fuji Aladdin digital print stations, self service kiosks that produce prints from digital media. Customers will be able to upload or download digital images, scan prints, and will pay approximately $9 for three 4 x 6-inch prints, or two 5 x 7-inch prints or one 8 x 10.

"We think this is a good service to offer our customers because it lets them do a lot with their digital cameras," Friedman said. "We also get a lot of tourists in the area and this gives them access to prints quickly."

The main level will also merchandize some photo printers, scanners and digital imaging software but the bulk of computer peripherals and software will remain in J&R's computer store, also located on Park Row.

The lower level of the new store will be devoted to professional photography.