Fotomat was an American retail chain of photo development drive-through kiosks located in shopping center parking lots. Fotomat Corporation was founded by Preston Fleet in San Diego, California, in the 1960s, with the first kiosk opening in Point Loma, California, in 1965. It became a public company in 1971 and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in 1977. At its peak around 1980 there were over 4,000 Fotomats throughout the United States, primarily in suburban areas. Fotomats were distinctive for their pyramid-shaped gold-colored roofs and signs with red lettering, usually positioned in a large parking area such as a supermarket or strip mall, as the Fotomat huts required a minimal amount of land and were able to accommodate cars driving up to drop off or pick up film. They sold Kodak-brand film and other photography-related products, and offered one-day photo finishing. Fotomat often hired female employees to work in the small buildings and called them "Fotomates." The Fotomate uniform was a royal blue and yellow smock top. Male employees were called "Fotomacs" and their uniform was a light blue polo shirt. The name was chosen to remind consumers of the Automat chain of automated cafeterias.
Fotomat had both company-owned stores and franchises. This led to lawsuits between Fotomat and its franchisees over territories.
In the early 1980s, Fotomat Corporation was acquired by Konishiroku Photo Industry Ltd., also known as Konica Photo Imaging in 1986. Eventually, it was sold to Viewpoint Corporation in 2002.
The company's main product, overnight film development, was rendered noncompetitive by the late 1980s development of the minilab, which provided one-hour photo development and could be installed on-site without a large capital investment. Once overnight service became obsolete, Fotomat's product became online digital imaging, delivered via Fotomat.com, where users could edit and store their images. This site ceased operations September 1, 2009.
Today, the trademark is owned by DG, an advertising technology company and successor to Viewpoint Corporation.
Video Fotomat
Video rental service
In addition to photo developing, Fotomat was one of the first companies to offer movies for rent on videocassette--a new concept then--starting in December 1979. Customers would browse through a small catalog, call a number and order the movie or movies of their choice. The following day, the customer would pick up the cassette at the Fotomat kiosk of their choice. The rental cost was $12 per title (the equivalent of $39.36 in 2016) and the customer could keep it for five days. The price was later reduced to $9.95 for a five-day rental. The service was called "Fotomat Drive-Thru Movies."
Initially, only Paramount Pictures entered into an agreement with the chain to offer their movies for rent. Fotomat also offered lesser-known titles from smaller distributors such as Brandon Chase's Group I Releasing and VCI from Tulsa, Oklahoma (one of the first independent video labels at the dawn of the format), but these releases would not be prominently credited to these sources as the Paramount titles. Fotomat also carried certain exclusive releases, such as I Go Pogo: The Movie. These titles were distributed directly by Fotomat and were of a uniform design with a black, die-cut cardboard case and a black label that included a white title (as well as Paramount's stylized logo for their films), but otherwise no artwork or color. In addition, a Fotomat logo accompanied by a four-tone sound would play before the start of each movie. The logo included an artistic representation of the company's yellow mansard roof.
On March 4, 1980, Walt Disney Home Entertainment began offering their first videos for rental through Fotomat.
By 1982, local video stores had begun to offer customers cheaper video rentals without the overnight wait time and Fotomat discontinued the service.
Maps Fotomat
References
- Partial List of Fotomat-Distributed Films
- youtube.com 1980s Fotomat Commercial
- youtube.com FotoMat Store 1984 Commercial
- youtube.com Fotomat Spot - 1981
- youtube.com Fotomat film processing commercial 1986
External links
- Four-Tone Fotomat Video Logo from their rental tapes, 1979-1982
- Copy of Fotomat Video release of Death Wish
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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