Hewlett-Packard Co. has announced that 50 Wal-Mart stores and Sam’s Club locations will begin carrying the company’s Photosmart Studio, a self-service photo kiosk which gives consumers the ability to turn their digital photos into creative projects such as albums, calendars and posters.
The announcement on Monday came less than a week since HP unpacked the photo printing kiosk and coincided with the company’s presence at the Photo Marketing Association’s tradeshow which wrapped up yesterday in Orlando, FL.
“We are thrilled to be working with Wal-Mart to expand the number of HP Photosmart Studios in the marketplace,” said Vyomesh Joshi, executive VP-imaging and printing group at HP, in a statement. “We believe our new solution opens the door to a significantly more profitable photofinishing business for retailers while offering their customers far greater choices than they’ve ever had in stores.”
Targeting the $35 billion-plus retail photo-printing market, HP will work with retail partners to roll out the kiosks and other printing tools in locations such as mass-merchandisers, club stores, supermarkets, drug stores, photo specialty stores, electronics stores and office product stores.
Consumers who use the kiosk can create items such as greeting cards within minutes using their digital photos and pick them up in an hour.
The Palo Alto, CA-based company is hedging its bets that the kiosks will become popular on consumers’ familiarity and recognition of the HP brand as a trusted photo printing solutions provider, said a source close to HP. The company’s key strategy includes reaching “internet-enabled moms” who are typically in charge of gathering photos and putting them together in scrapbooks, the source said.
For now, however, retailers will primarily be in charge of marketing the kiosks as they are installed throughout their locations, the source said. Select Albertsons and Longs Drugs Stores already carry the kiosk.
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