B&H Photo

B&H Photo Video (also known as B&H Photo and B&H and B&H Foto & Electronics Corporation) is an American photo and video equipment retailer founded in 1973, based in Manhattan, New York City. B&H conducts business primarily through online e-commerce consumer sales and business to business sales, as they only have one retail location.

Ownership and clientele

B&H Photo Video targets professional photographers and videographers. It operates a warehouse located in Florence, New Jersey.

The owner of the company, Herman Schreiber, and many of the store's employees are observant Satmar Hasidic Jews. The company’s only brick-and-mortar store located in Manhattan is closed on Shabbat, most Jewish holidays, and Christmas. Although the B&H website is accessible on Shabbat, checkout and processing of online orders are unavailable during that time (from sundown Friday evening till Saturday evening) along with Jewish holidays according to local (New York) time.

History

B&H opened in 1973 as a storefront film shop at 17 Warren Street in Tribeca, and took its name from the initials of owners Blimie Schreiber and her husband, Herman. Later in the 1970s, B&H moved to 119 West 17th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues in the Photo District and began to expand its stock to a wider range of film and photography products. In the 1990s, the company began selling various electronics, including computers, lighting, and audio equipment. In 1997, the store moved to its present location.

B&H is located just south of Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, at 420 Ninth Avenue at the intersection with West 34th Street. In 2007, B&H opened a second floor above its original sales floor making a total of 70,000 sq ft (6,500 m²) of sales space.

Also in 2007, B&H moved its offices to 440 9th Avenue in Manhattan. As the company has grown, it expanded its office presence to accommodate sales, customer service, buying, marketing, and various back office functions; these functions are housed in 150,000 square feet of office space.

The store has an extensive conveyor belt system that runs along the ceiling.

In 2015, B&H added an Apple authorized shop to the computer department with an assortment of Apple products. There is an Apple employee in shop to assist and consult. In 2016, Vaio announced that they signed a contract with B&H photo video to offer their products. That same year, the company moved their warehouse to Florence in Burlington County, New Jersey.

In September 2021, the NY Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Attorney General of New York State claiming the company knowingly avoided paying millions in New York sales taxes.

In 2023, as part of the company’s 50th anniversary celebration, B&H sold custom LEGO models of their flagship store.

Bild Expo

In 2023, B&H Photo Video celebrated its 50th anniversary with the inaugural Bild Expo (named after the Yiddish word for 'image'), held on September 6-7 at the Javits Center in New York City.

The Expo featured four main stages: the Bild Main Stage for talks from photographers, directors, and creators; the OPTIC stage for outdoor and travel photography; the Depth of Field Stage for instruction on portrait, wedding, and event photography; and the Creative Production stage or filmmaking, videography, and editing. In addition to educational experiences, the expo included a 100,000+ square-foot Gear Expo with more than 130 creative technology brands. The event also celebrated the 100th anniversary of 16mm filmmaking with a special Kodak 16mm Film Workshop.

Philanthropy

In 2013, the B&H Wilderness Photo Competition awarded two prizes, one based on a professionally judged vote and one from a popular choice vote. The competition included categories such as land mammals, aquatic, birds, and landscape/scenery.

In 2018, B&H sponsored Bushwick Stories, a documentary workshop for young storytellers created by the Bushwick Film Festival. For many years, B&H has sponsored NYC Salt, a program that offers intensive photography training to NYC high school students. B&H also sponsors programs and fellowships at BRIC, the largest presenter of free cultural programming in Brooklyn. B&H has worked with partners including Intel to donate tech equipment to NYC public school classrooms.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, B&H organized "Days of Appreciation" for health care workers at Lenox Hill Hospital and other NYC hospitals.

Controversies

In October 2007, it was reported that B&H Photo agreed to a US$4.3 million settlement in response to claims of discrimination against Hispanic workers, without admitting any wrongdoing.

In November 2009, B&H Photo faced a lawsuit, initiated by four women, for allegedly violating New York City and New York State human rights laws with their hiring practices. The lawsuit, which aimed for class action status, sought $19 million in compensatory and punitive damages to discourage similar future practices.

In 2011, B&H was involved in a lawsuit concerning claims of discrimination against Hispanic workers.

In February 2016, the United States Department of Labor Office of Contract Compliance filed a lawsuit against B&H, citing concerns that the company exclusively hired Hispanic men for entry-level positions in a Brooklyn warehouse and allegedly subjected them to harassment and poor working conditions. On August 16, 2017, B&H announced a settlement of this matter for $3.22 million, while maintaining they did nothing wrong.

Recognition

In 2015, B&H's Google Play app was named the "Best Mobile Shopping App" at the Mobile Shop Conference.

In 2016, Consumer Reports awarded B&H Photo its No. 1 Top Rating for Best Electronics Retailer. In 2018 it named it the leading online consumer electronics retailer.

In May 2018, B&H was named by Forbes Magazine as one of America's Best Midsize Employers for 2018. The Forbes recognition was based on independent employee surveys conducted by Forbes.

Also in 2018, B&H's consumer website was recognized as the Best for User Experience of any e-commerce company by the Baymard Institute.

Newsweek named B&H as one of America's Top Companies for Customer Service in 2019, with top position in the consumer electronics category based on over 130,000 customer evaluations. Newsweek again recognized B&H for excellence in Customer Service for 2020.