Hunt's Photo & Video named retailer of year

Hunt’s Photo & Video Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Rich Yagjian, President Scott Farber, RAM Board Member Rick Segel, and Hunt’s General Manager Mike Mitchell celebrate Hunt’s recent winning of the 2011 Massachusetts Retailer of the Year Award.

The following was submitted by Howard Communication Associates:

New England’s largest digital imaging equipment retailer has added a much-coveted new honor to its distinguished record of achievement.

The Retailers Association of Massachusetts presented Hunt’s Photo & Video of Melrose with its 2011 Retailer of the Year Award in recognition of Hunt’s continuous dedication to providing customers with exceptional products, unparalleled service, and originality in all that they do.

The award was announced at the 2011 RAM luncheon and awards ceremony marking the 14th anniversary of the RAM Awards of Excellence.

During the Retailer of the Year Award presentation at Bentley University, RAM Board member and ceremony MC Rick Segel called Hunt’s a story from which “other retailers can learn,” and noted the company’s growth from neighborhood drugstore to digital imaging dynasty.

Opened in 1889 and purchased by pharmacist Solomon Farber in 1952, Hunt’s was an old-fashioned drugstore in Malden Square with a section for photo equipment and film until the 1970s, when big chain pharmacies began crowding out the smaller competitors. With a growing interest in cameras and the future of neighborhood pharmacies in question, Farber’s son, Jack, began downsizing the prescription side of the business and expanding the focus on the sale of photography equipment and film, opening a new 30,000-square-foot facility at 100 Main St., Melrose in 1985.

Just five years later with the boom of interest in cameras and video equipment in full swing, Jack, now president of the company, closed the pharmacy and initiated the marketing strategy that turned the former Hunt’s Drug into the imaging equipment powerhouse it is today.

Now known as Hunt’s Photo & Video and run by Jack’s sons, Scott Farber and Gary Farber, Hunt’s is a legend in Massachusetts, known for its relentless focused on three basic principles: unparalleled customer service, a highly trained and experienced sales staff, and competitive pricing.

“It seems like digital cameras are sold everywhere these days, so to be successful we need to offer our customers an experience they are not going to receive anywhere else,” says Hunt’s President Scott Farber. “We try every day to accomplish this and it has worked for Hunt’s. We sell photography in our stores, not cameras.”

“Hunt’s Photo and Video has represented the best retailing we have seen in Massachusetts over the past year,” said RAM President Jon Hurst. “Their longstanding tradition of customer service and variety of product has made them one of the top retailers in the state.”

With eight stores in four New England states, including the new South Shore location at 1207 Washington St., Route 53, in Hanover, Hunt’s sets the standard for retailing excellence. “The 30,000 square foot flagship store in Melrose is truly a sight to see, and after visiting the store and talking to the employees, it’s easy to see how this great retailer is able to compete, and thrive, against their national and online competitors," said RAM Vice President Bill Rennie.

In addition to the category of Retailer of the Year, awards were given to Rookie of the Year, Visual Display, Restaurant of the Year, Creative Concepts, Community Service, and Advertising & Promotion.

ABOUT HUNT’S PHOTO & VIDEO

Headquartered in Melrose, with branches in Boston, Cambridge, Hadley, and Hanover, MA, Manchester, NH, Providence, RI, and So. Portland, ME, Hunt’s Photo & Video serves students, hobbyists, and professionals with competitive pricing, unparalleled expertise, and exceptional customer service. You’ll enjoy “a picture perfect experience” every time you do business with Hunt’s.

ABOUT THE RETAILERS ASSOCIATION OF MASSACHUSETTS

The Retailers Association of Massachusetts is a statewide trade association of more than 3,000 retailers of all types and sizes. RAM was founded in 1918, and is based in Boston. The retail sector in Massachusetts employs 560,000 residents, and has total sales of $112 billion annually.