Spector with increased loss in first half

Sales of Spector’s Retail Group reached Euro 77.0 million (US-$ 97.6 million), a minus of 5.3 percent. The company’s Imaging business, which comprises imaging services as well as the Filmobel hardware wholesaling business, recorded sales of Euro 28.9 million (US-$ 36.6 million), 20.3 percent less than in the year-ago period. According to a press release, the decline in the retail group was mainly due to low consumer confidence in Belgium and Luxembourg. The drop in sales in Spector’s Imaging Group could be largely attributed to the almost complete termination of the trading in photo paper, Spector said, adding that the mail order operations under the Extrafilm brand saw a slight decrease in revenue; the 40 percent decline in film processing and printing was compensated by the digital growth, according to Spector.

In the first half year, the company gave priority to improving the automation of production in its Wetteren fulfillment facility, developing new software for photobooks and increasing the automation of customer service in the three centers in Belgium, Switzerland and Sweden. In the second half of 2010, the Imaging Group is now ready to boost growth through marketing campaigns and to improve margins with lower production costs, Spector said.