Flecto enables a Rental Model for one of the biggest Photography Distribution Companies in Portugal
Operating since 1997, ComercialFoto never thought it would be possible for them to rent their top tier professional equipment. The risks associated with making their specialised photo and video gear accessible were too high, specially due to not having a system that would guarantee their (costly) equipment would return safe and sound. That is, until Flecto came in the picture.
ComercialFoto is an established Portuguese partner for all Photography professionals. They represent reputable brands in the Portuguese market such as Sony, Sigma, DJI, Nikon, Godox, amongst others. Besides importing and distributing professional equipment to all the biggest retailers in the market, an important part of their business relies on selling the equipment directly to professional photographers and production/advertising companies.
Business owners, professional photographers and freelancers are able to find the best list of equipment in the world with ComercialFoto: all the way from Hubsan drone equipment down to a variety of camera lenses from Sigma.
Unlocking rental operations
ComercialFoto started to think about renting once they realised what was keeping customers from buying directly to them: the fact that they didn’t have the chance to try the equipment before purchasing it. As a safety measure and, again, due to the high value of their products, ComercialFoto wasn’t able to pilot a test-before-you-buy model.
Secondly — and this is a common problem in the photography market — they knew that most of their audience only needed to use the equipment a couple of times. Depending on the job, the need for photo and video gear is, most of the times, a short term need. As such, over the years, ComercialFoto had plenty of rental requests that they (unfortunately) had to reject.
Last but not least, ComercialFoto had hundreds of demo products that were not being used. Their full inventory was somewhat of a mystery with incredible potential. As such, there was a lot of room to uncover high-quality equipment and possibly meet the increasing demand for short term use that was starting to emerge in their audience.
How Flecto ensured safe transactions
When Flecto met with ComercialFoto, it was a match made in heaven. Their main issues — safety, short term need for products and unexplored inventory — could easily be resolved with our all-in-one platform. With an intuitive, easy-to-use dashboard that enablements management for bookings, clients and inventory, Flecto is the one-stop shop for all rental operations.
We provided a Guarantee feature that protects ComercialFoto’s products from any loss, damage or theft, assuring a 100% insurance for all transactions. Additionally, our Verification method — which relies on both ID and photo — helped retain the safety and privacy of all customers and affairs. All the team had to do was transition their entire inventory to our platform and enjoy the ride from there. The equipment became fully available for rental and all bookings could be digitally managed with just a few clicks.
We are proud and excited to have ComercialFoto as one of our partners and an enthusiastic business that is uncovering the benefits of a renting business model. With demands shifting everyday towards a more conscious consumption of products and a more sustainable world, we hope that ComercialFoto is only one of many businesses that join us on this exciting journey.
