Wynit, one of the leading suppliers to photo specialist stores closed its headquarters in Greenville, South Carolina, without warning last Friday, August 25.
Wynit supplied leading photo brands such as Olympus, Epson, DJI, SanDisk, Wacom, Lowepro, Kodak and Pelican to photo specialists as part of a larger operation which also supplied consumer electronics, drones, storage memory, action cameras to a range of channels. Walmart, Best Buy and Target were among its customers.
‘Due to a number of unexpected financial issues combined with a disappointing holiday selling season, Wynit Distribution LLC announced a reorganization today that will close its Wholesale Distribution Division based locally,’ a press release said.
Around 140 employees at the Greenville, South Carolina are affected. Local reports indicate they were given no notice and will only be paid out until the end of this month.
According to the press release, Wynit will maintain its software publishing and supply chain divisions in Minnesota. It has apparently shuttered its distribution centres in McCarran, Nevada and Memphis, Tennessee.
In a more positive twist to the story, distribution behemoth Synnex has expressed interest in hiring at least some of the 140 now unemployed Wynit staff – without indicating whether it has interests in Wynit assets in Greenville or elswhere.
The press release:
Due to a number of unexpected financial issues combined with a disappointing holiday selling season, Wynit Distribution LLC announced a reorganization today that will close its Wholesale Distribution Division based locally.
The company will maintain its Software Publishing Division and Supply Chain Service Division, which are located in Minnesota, said Pete Richichi, the company’s chief operating officer. The closing of the Greenville division affects 140 people. A transition team will stay in Greenville through the end of the year to help facilitate the reorganization.
Wynit moved the division to downtown Greenville roughly two years ago from Syracuse, New York. While there were a lot of incentives talked about as part of the company’s move, Richichi stressed the company never took any money from South Carolina taxpayers.
‘We are grateful for the welcome Greenville and South Carolina gave to us,’ Richichi said. ‘This is not what we wanted or expected. Unfortunately, we were unable to adjust fast enough to unforeseen changes. This was purely a financial decision. Our hope is we emerge a better company.’
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