Eastland House underwent its first expansion in 1991 when it became Swains International PLC
In 1989 the management team at Swains expanded and Alan Comer and Danny Williams joined the fold!
been the case for a number of years. Similarly, he said that the company could efficiently operate with 15,000sq ft of warehousing. Alan said: “The photographic industry is an industry that we’ve been in for a very long time. We’re excited about the future of Swains International PLC and have some very promising plans ahead. We continue to work with some of the most vibrant brands in the sector and are always looking for the best products for our customers. This potential move is simply a strategic part of the plan for our future growth”. He added: “It’s important to reiterate the point that, whilst we’re looking to downsize the scale of the property we operate from, and I do hate that term; we are not downsizing our people or the brands that we work with.” Pixel will keep you all posted of any developments as they happen. A Brief History of Swains: In December 2015 at the Pixel Trade awards, we posthumously handed the Outstanding Contribution to the Industry award to Chris Swain. Here seems like a great opportunity to revisit the heritage of the company and of the industry legend himself. The Swain name has been associated with photography since 1910 when Chris Swain’s grandfather, Percy opened Smith Studios in Loughborough. His sons, Ernest and Arthur, expanded the business, becoming ‘Smudgers’ and in 1937 eventually opened a shop in Hunstanton. Ernest’s third child was born in 1945 – Christopher James Swain. Like his father, Chris developed a keen interest in photography and in 1964 travelled to Jersey to work in a processing lab. He stayed there until 1970 when he decided to move back to Hunstanton and join his father, taking over the business fully in 1975 when
Ernest retired. Chris turned the business into a wholesale distribution company employing a National Sales Force. Peter Chambers, a former employee of Polaroid, joined the team as Sales Director and In 1989 Chris expanded his management team and Alan Comer and Danny Williams joined the fold. The Swains Trade Shows, and there were over 30 of them, became a trade only event, not to be missed, with one held in Spring and another in Winter of each year. Eastland House underwent its first expansion in 1991, when it also became Swains International PLC. Terry Carey the company joined the company in 1993 and looked after Kalimar making the Barbie camera - the UK’s second bestselling 110 camera. Chris’ daughters, Claire and Abby
“The Swain name has been associated with photography since 1910 when Chris Swain’s grandfather, Percy opened Smith Studios in Loughborough”
then joined in the mid 1990’s followed by Roy Sealey. Then, Swains International PLC acquired Tudor in 2009 and Stuart Boston joined in 2013 after managing the Stevenage-based Retailer, Digital Depot.
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