23 December 2019 Kamera Express expands its service offering by acquiring Budgetcam and Profotonet
Utrecht (NL), 18 December 2019 – Kamera Express, Europe’s leading photo and video equipment specialist, has acquired Budgetcam, the market leading rental company for photo- and video equipment in the Netherlands, and Profotonet, a leading producer of high-quality prints.
Kamera Express, based in Capelle a/d Ijssel (The Netherlands), has been the leading photo and video specialist in the Netherlands and Belgium for more than 20 years. Through its own webshops and 24 brick-and-mortar stores, Kamera Express provides consumers with a winning combination of a wide product range and the best service at the lowest prices. Vendis Capital, being shareholder since the beginning of 2018, aims to build the European market leader in this attractive niche market. With the earlier acquisition of Foto Konijnenberg at the end of 2018, this strategy accelerated by adding brick-and-mortar stores and webshops in several European countries (The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, United Kingdom, Ireland, Austria, Spain, Italy and Luxembourg).
In addition to hardware, the range of Kamera Express also includes various related products and services, such as insurances, trainings and travel options. The aim of this broad and high-quality offering is to be able to serve as good and complete as possible both professional customers and hobbyists and thereby strengthening its position as the specialist in photo and video equipment. Kamera Express has evolved from a retailer to a fully-fledged consumer platform that offers information, products, services and a community to its target group. As part of this strategy, the acquisition of Budgetcam and Profotonet further strengthens the platform with rental equipment and high-quality photo prints. Both services resonate well with the needs of the different Kamera Express target groups.
Budget Cameraverhuur B.V., better known under its brand name Budgetcam, was founded in 2003 by Bjinse van der Zwaag. In the years that followed, Budgetcam grew strongly to become the leading rental company of photo and video equipment in the Netherlands with a total of 8 branches.
Profotonet B.V., founded in 1951 and under the leadership of Richard Berlijn, recently grew into a strong provider of various types of prints (photo prints, albums and wall decoration). The company is positioned within the premium segment of the market and differentiates itself with the high quality of its prints.
Ben Cornelisse, CEO of Kamera Express: “With the addition of Budgetcam and Profotonet we can further strengthen the services we provide to our customers and thus our position as the specialist in photo and video in Europe. We are grateful to both Bjinse and Richard for the leading positions both companies have achieved in their segments. We look forward to adding them to the Kamera Express platform and to accelerating their growth through the combination.”