Retro Camera: How a Father and Son in Ypres Serve Analog Photographers Across Europe

From Photo Studio to European Online Store

The story of Retro Camera begins in the 1980s, when Kurt’s father completed his studies in photography. He worked as a photojournalist, ran his own studio, and opened a store in Poperinge, which later moved to a larger location in Ypres. When digital photography took off in the early 2000s, the store embraced the trend—but unlike many other photo shops, it always kept a selection of film, photo chemicals, and darkroom supplies on the shelves.

Around 2015, Jeroen—then in his early twenties—found an old Bronica, a medium-format camera, in a cabinet in his father’s studio. “That craftsmanship behind analog photography really appealed to me,” he says. “And when I started looking online for supplies, I realized there was a gap in the market: a web store where you could still find everything you needed for analog photography.”

He launched an online store with a small selection, just as instant photography was experiencing a massive revival. Young people were rediscovering the medium: the unique colors, the limitations, and the craftsmanship involved in creating a photo. Today, Retro Camera serves two major customer groups: a younger audience that picks up a camera every now and then, and professional photographers and artists who consciously choose analog. “I think we can now say that we’re one of the major players in Europe,” says Jeroen.

The division of labor between father and son has become clearly defined: Kurt handles purchasing, logistics, and shipping, while Jeroen works on the online store, product descriptions, marketing, and the product lineup.

One system, one inventory, one customer

The search for a solution had clear requirements. “We were really looking for a single system,” says Jeroen. “A single inventory for the store and the online shop. A single customer record, whether the customer comes into the store or orders online. And sales that automatically feed into the accounting system. That was our biggest challenge, and we found the solution at Tilroy.”

Today, everything runs on that integrated foundation. “That’s still one of your greatest strengths,” says Jeroen. “A physical store and an online store that are fully integrated, with a seamless link to the accounting system.”

A product is created once and is immediately available in the online store and at the register. On the customer record, you can immediately see all the data, regardless of where the customer made the purchase. “That saves a lot of time,” says Jeroen. “The accounting system barely requires any manual intervention: from the register or online order to the invoice to the accounting system—it all runs automatically. Even payments are automatically reconciled."

VAT for All of Europe, Without the Headaches

Retro Camera ships to photographers throughout the European Union. That means: local VAT rates per country under the OSS scheme, intra-Community shipments to professional photographers with a VAT number, partnerships with schools in Belgium, France, and the Netherlands, and even different rates within our own product range: 21% on almost everything, 6% on books.

Sound complicated? “It’s not rocket science, but it has to be set up properly from the start,” Jeroen puts it into perspective. “You set up the VAT rates per country in Tilroy, and then they’re automatically applied correctly, depending on the shipping address and the customer type. Once that’s set up correctly, there’s hardly any manual intervention needed. The tax regimes are recognized correctly, and invoicing runs smoothly.”

A streamlined orderflow with a team of two

The order volume requires the workflow to be streamlined streamlined: an incoming order appears in the task list in Tilroy, the products are picked—partly from a second warehouse for larger volumes—packed, and shipped via the SendCloud integration, primarily with DPD.

The duo handles peak periods with ease. “Capacity has never been an issue,” says Jeroen. And the beauty of their niche: there’s a product for every season. In the summer, film sells well; in September, photo-processing supplies come in; during the winter months, scanning and printing are in high demand; and partnerships with schools drive spikes in sales at the start of every school year. Promotions for Black Friday or sales events are quick to set up: “There are plenty of ways to launch promotions fast.”

Tilroy also makes a difference in the warehouse: with the mobile scanners, inventory counts and receiving goods are much more efficient. “When receiving goods, you walk through the warehouse with the scanner: you scan a product and immediately see how many you have left and what you need to reorder. We use that a lot.”

His advice to other specialized online stores that are on the fence? “That fully integrated approach isn’t something you think about when you’re starting out. Usually, you choose a system that’s popular, and it’s only as you grow that you run into issues with the integration between the online store, point-of-sale, inventory, and accounting. If you know you want to grow, I definitely recommend it: then you’ll immediately have a platform that can handle that growth.”

Ready for the Next Step

Retro Camera’s ambition is clear: to become an even bigger name in the small but vibrant world of analog photography, and to continue growing in European markets. “There’s definitely still room for growth,” Jeroen concludes. “Here and there, we can still optimize and fine-tune things. We know what we want—and we’re going to keep doing what we’re doing.”