Distribution deals are not usually the stuff of headlines, but this one matters if you shoot film in Britain. Leicester-based Dupli has been appointed official UK distributor for Eastman Kodak Film, bringing an expanded range to photo retailers, labs and analogue specialists across the country.
Why a distributor appointment is worth your attention
Anyone who has shot film through the past few years knows the pattern: your local shop has the stock you want, then it does not, then it has it again at a different price. Film supply in the UK has been patchy and unpredictable, and a great deal of that comes down to how product reaches retailers rather than whether it is being made.
An official distributor changes that. It means shops and labs have a single UK trade route with proper stock levels rather than piecing together supply from various sources, and it generally means steadier availability and more consistent pricing at the counter. For photographers the benefit is indirect but real — this is trade distribution, so you will not be buying from Dupli yourself, but you should notice the difference in what your local retailer can actually get hold of.
Mike Fawcett, CEO of Dupli, called the appointment a significant milestone for the company, noting that demand for analogue photography continues to strengthen across the UK and describing the aim as making the range more accessible to retailers, labs and specialist stockists nationwide.
Part of a wider push
This is not an isolated move. Over the past twelve months Dupli has steadily built out its analogue offering, adding CineStill, Candido, Lucky and KEKS alongside a broader selection from Harman and Ilford.
That list tells you something about where the market is. CineStill built its whole business on modified Kodak motion picture stock; KEKS makes light meters for people shooting cameras with no working meter of their own. These are not legacy products being kept alive out of sentiment — they are new businesses serving a growing customer base, and a distributor investing in that many analogue brands in a single year is responding to genuine demand rather than nostalgia.
It also sits alongside other signs of the format’s health this year, including AgfaPhoto Print launching a UK-wide film development service and Lomography continuing to expand its reloadable camera range. The infrastructure around film — supply, processing, metering — is quietly being rebuilt.
What we do not yet know
Dupli has not specified which Eastman Kodak stocks the range covers, and that detail matters. Eastman Kodak is the motion picture side of the business, so this may well mean cine stocks reaching UK retailers more easily — which would be genuinely interesting given how many photographers now shoot motion picture film in stills cameras. We have asked and will update this story once the range is confirmed.
Either way, more film reaching more UK shops through a proper trade channel is straightforwardly good news for anyone who shoots it.
Dupli and Eastman Kodak Film: the details
Appointment: Dupli named official UK distributor for Eastman Kodak Film. Availability: to UK trade customers from Dupli now; a full set of product assets is being made available to Dupli customers. Scope: photo retailers, labs and analogue specialists across the UK. Recent additions to Dupli’s analogue range over the past 12 months: CineStill, Candido, Lucky and KEKS, plus an expanded selection from Harman and Ilford. Note: the specific Eastman Kodak stocks included in the range have not been detailed. Trade enquiries go through Dupli; further information at dupli.co.uk.
