Magnicon

Magnicon was the house brand of the Canadian retail store, Black's Photography. As one of Canada's most successful homegrown businesses, founded by the Black family in the 1930's, Black's Photography grew from a single store to a national, and international, chain. Black and his brothers used new methods of advertising, took advantage of every innovation, did their own photofinishing, and introduced the practice of printing 4 x 6 photos, when no one else was doing it. In July 1993, Fuji Photo Film Canada purchased Blacks and its 210 stores for $65 million.

But purchase behaviour was changing after the introduction of the smart phones, and tablets capable of sharing pictures without having to print them.

Telus bought Black's Photo Corp. in 2009 for $28 million, but then closed the remaining 59 stores in 2015, after struggling to compete in the digital age.

For those interested, a book with the Story of Black's Photography, as told by Robert Black, former Vice President, is available on amazon.com.

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