The digital photography revolution and global credit crunch have been blamed for the closure of second-hand camera dealer MXV Photographic (Sussex) Ltd.
The firm, based in Uckfield, East Sussex, since 1990 is being wound up under a creditors’ voluntary liquidation, following a shareholder resolution passed last month.
MXV described itself as a mail-order specialist that could deliver to most parts of the world, updating its stock on a regular basis.
Joint liquidator Ian Yerrill, from Gerald Edelman Business Recovery, confirmed to Amateur Photographer (AP): ‘The company had traded in the business of buying and selling used high quality, traditional, photographic equipment.
‘The director and the company considered its demise to be primarily due to the movement in emphasis in the industry to digital equipment which resulted in a long term decline in turnover, aggravated by the effects of the global credit crunch.’
Rumours about the firm’s closure have been rife for weeks.
Photography enthusiasts using AP’s online forum said that the firm’s website no longer worked, and phone calls and emails remained unanswered.
One AP reader warned: ‘I cannot imagine that MXV will be the last? One problem I foresee is that shops like MXV often have/had specialist items, like focusing screens, dedicated accessories and the like.
‘Ultimately, such items could become really hard to find, except (at the very worse) as overpriced, unidentified items, in a box of miscellaneous stuff, at a camera fair? Let’s hope not!’
Another photo enthusiast added: ‘I always thought they had some interesting stock and had intended visiting them to have a poke around in the used and darkroom kit.’
MXV’s products had included digital, as well as film-based cameras, according to its website prior to closure.
