The popularity that instant cameras have gained in recent years has paved the way for analog cameras to be in demand again. Now, in stores like the Wonder Photo Shop that Fujifilm has in Gran de Gràcia, film rolls fly off the shelves and 20 developments are done every day. A sector that entered a deep crisis with the irruption of mobile phones and the possibility of taking infinite photographs is detecting how it is returning to what it was before, to being able to take few shots and not knowing how they turn out until they are developed. As happened with the return to vinyl records, users have started buying disposable cameras, then moved on to instant cameras, and are now preparing for analog ones.
The recovery that photography stores are experiencing is confirmed by the Wonder Photo Shop that the Japanese multinational opened in the Gràcia neighborhood in 2015. It was the first one Fujifilm inaugurated outside of Japan worldwide and chose the city where its headquarters for Spain are located, on Aragó street. It started by offering the possibility of printing and customizing photos taken with mobile phones. According to Eduardo López, Head of Photography at Fujifilm Spain, the aim was to encourage the sector, proposing new business avenues, after film rolls had stopped being used and digital cameras had been stored away in the back of some drawer.
From 2017, other brands such as Fotoprix and El Corte Inglés approached Fujifilm to open their own Wonder Photo Shops. Currently, there are a total of 107 establishments of this type spread across about twenty European countries, with 28 stores located in Spain. In Barcelona and its metropolitan area, there are five.
The goldmine that Instax instant cameras represented, which had been on the verge of disappearing in 2010, made them gain space in the Gran de Gràcia establishment, which has now been renovated, also taking advantage of the boom that analog photography is experiencing, doubling the space allocated to it. The multinational has invested half a million euros in renovating the store, the only one it owns out of the hundred Wonder Photo Shops that exist. The focus is no longer on decorating photos, and a trend that Fujifilm hopes will be the next has even been included: the return of digital cameras: "Those who use film rolls can make the leap," explains López.
The second life that traditional photography is experiencing is also reflected in the turnover figures of the first Wonder Photo Shop, with a staff of 15 workers. In 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, it generated 350,000 euros. This year, the figure is expected to rise to 800,000 euros. By 2025, it is expected to reach one and a half million euros. Photo printing accounts for 41% of sales, while Instax cameras take 25%. Digital cameras, for now, concentrate 12%. At a European level, Fujifilm's Photography division's turnover represents 39% of the total, a figure that grows to 45% in Spain.
The renovation undertaken in the store has also involved incorporating an exhibition area of 250 square meters on the ground floor. With free access, the aim is to continue promoting the photographic culture that has allowed old glories to be recovered. Fujifilm plans to organize six bimonthly exhibitions per year and has started with one by photographer Melitó Casals, known as Meli, with 85 images of Cadaqués and one of his great friends, Salvador Dalí, taken between the 50s and 90s. The exhibition Melí, Cadaqués, Dalí can be seen until April 15.
For upcoming exhibitions, Fujifilm has closed collaboration agreements with the contemporary analog photography festival Revela't, the Foto Colectania foundation, and the KBr photography center. They also want to host presentations, concerts, and other cultural activities. With the opening of the new space, the company expects annual visitors to increase from 50,000 to 80,000.