Noritsu completes Lucidiom acquisition

"Retailers looking for ways to enhance the profit opportunities from their photo services department now have an integrated and scalable photo solution for the consumer driven digital age," said Mr. Steven L’Heureux, Chief Operating Officer of Noritsu America Corporation. "What we are offering retailers is the opportunity to combine the resources of our superior digital imaging equipment, already deployed in more than 50 percent of the nation’s leading retailers, with Lucidiom’s creative APM (automated photo machine) kiosks and versatile web-based solutions."

L’Heureux explained that with Lucidiom’s established network of more than 55,000 APM kiosks and Noritsu’s market leadership in printing solutions, the companies together will provide retailers a proven and highly integrated photo solution that can generate new revenue streams and improved gross margins in their photo departments.

This acquisition comes at a time when the photofinishing and photo services industry is transitioning away from the standard print business and embracing a consumer-driven social expression era that includes the creation of more photo merchandise products. According to the "Photo Merchandise Products for the U.S. Market: Adding Value to Consumer-Generated Content" report from InfoTrends that was presented at the Digital Imaging Conference in September, 2009, the market for photo merchandise, specifically cards, calendars, books, and specialty photo prints, is set to grow from a $682 million market in 2007 to over $1.2 billion by the end of 2009, an annual growth rate of 34%. The photo merchandise category is expected to deliver impressive growth rates well beyond next year, as it is forecasted to grow to over $2.5 billion in revenue by 2013, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22%.

Lucidiom CEO and Chairman Stephen Giordano, Sr., said, "Consumers have increasingly come to expect photos to be a way of accenting their storytelling. We believe that to succeed in this new environment, retailers must offer services that allow those consumers to act as creator, publisher and distributor. They want to have the ability at home, at the office or in the store to share what they’ve created in new ways beyond the standard 4×6 print. For the retailer, that means new revenue opportunities, including hundreds of personal publishing and photo gifts. Noritsu and Lucidiom have the equipment and services to help photo services providers of all sizes succeed."