Elite foto

What Elite foto does

Elite Foto AS is a Norwegian photo retail and printing chain operating 27 physical stores nationwide alongside an e-commerce storefront at elitefoto.no. The company sells physical photo products — prints, photo books, calendars, wall art on canvas, aluminum, acrylic, and wood, personalized posters, celebration stationery for weddings, confirmations, and baptisms, photo gifts, frames, and albums — and resells analog and instant photography supplies including disposable cameras, Instax and Polaroid cameras and film, and analog film cameras. Its underlying technology stack centers on in-store photo printing on genuine photographic paper with local production, supported by the GetPrintBox print-on-demand platform that powers the online configurator and order workflow, plus standard digital processing for scanning, restoration, and video digitization services.

The business model is a hybrid of direct-to-consumer e-commerce and physical retail under a centralized franchise/membership structure, where individual stores are run by local photographers (including heritage operators such as Kjøstvedt foto, established 1911, and Reiakvam foto, third-generation in Førde) and Elite Foto AS manages supplier agreements. Revenue is generated through one-time unit-priced product sales (typical price points of 99–549+ NOK) and pay-as-you-go in-store services such as film development, passport photos, negative and slide printing, scanning, retouching, and video transfer (VHS, VHS-C, Betamax, Video 8, Hi8, Digital 8, MiniDV, 8mm, 16mm, Super 8). The "Klikk & Hent" (Click & Collect) service ties the channels together, with a 2-hour express production option for a 59 NOK surcharge, and home delivery via Posten/Bring and HeltHjem.

Customer segments are predominantly individual Norwegian consumers across use cases: mobile-to-physical preservation, weddings, confirmations, baptisms, and heritage digitization of aging prints and analog media. Marketing is multi-channel through Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, TikTok, an extensive editorial blog covering occasion planning and creative ideas, and email campaigns. The most recent product addition is AI Plakater, a generative-AI personalized artwork category intended to expand the personalization SKU set.

Name

Elite foto

Legal name

Elite Foto AS

Website

https://elitefoto.no

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Elite Foto AS is a Norwegian photo retail and printing chain operating 27 stores nationwide plus the elitefoto.no e-commerce platform, offering photo prints, books, wall art, celebration stationery, gifts, and analog and digitization services to individual consumers across Norway.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Photo Printing Services

NAICS

Photofinishing (81292), One-Hour Photofinishing (812922)

SIC

Services-Photofinishing Laboratories (7384)

akta.pro primary industry

Sports Art, Prints & Photography Retail (CRAMAOAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Photo & Video Output Devices (Printers, Portable Photo Printers, Photo Frames) (CRACAPAL)

Keywords

• Photo printing services
• Custom photo products
• Photo book printing
• Photo digitization services
• Personalized photo gifts

Headquarters

HQ city

Oslo

HQ country

Norway

HQ region

Europe

Offices26 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Photo Product Sales: Sale of physical photo products including prints, photo books, calendars, frames, wall art (canvas, aluminum, acrylic, wood), photo gifts (mugs, puzzles, tote bags), invitations, thank you cards, and specialty occasion items.
2. In-Store Photo Services: Professional services including film development (35mm, instant cameras), passport and ID photos, photo scanning and digitization, photo restoration and retouching, video digitization (VHS to digital), negative printing, and slide printing.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Elite Foto is a Norwegian photo retail and printing chain that produces and sells physical photo products - prints, photo books, calendars, wall art, frames, personalized gifts, and celebration stationery - through 27 physical stores and an online store. The company also provides professional photo services including film development, photo scanning, photo restoration, video digitization, and passport photos.

Product overview

Elite Foto is a Norwegian photo retail and printing service operating a chain of physical stores across Norway plus an online store. The company's product portfolio centers on photo printing services (from mobile phones and cameras), supplemented by physical photo products including photo books, photo calendars, wall decorations (canvas, aluminum, acrylic, wood), personalized posters and collages, invitations and cards for celebrations (confirmations, weddings, baptisms), photo gifts (mugs, puzzles, bags), frames and albums, and analog/instant photography products (disposable cameras, instant cameras, film). The company also provides in-store services such as film development, photo retouching/restoration, scanning/digitalization, video transfer, passport photos, and click-and-collect with express production options. The offering operates as a unified retail concept with both physical store locations and online ordering, unified by the Klikk & Hent (click and collect) and Ekspress (express) service models.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Kjøstvedt foto: A historic photography studio in Kristiansand, established in 1911, operated under the Elite Foto chain.
• Reiakvam foto

Products and services

• Photo Printing (Fremkall bilder) Photo printing service allowing customers to print images from mobile phones or cameras on genuine photo paper, with production in Norway.
• Photo Enlargements (Store bilder) Large format photo printing service with options for various sizes including 20x30cm, 40x50cm, 50x70cm, and 60x80cm.
• Photo Books (Fotobok) Custom photo books in various styles including classic, theme-based, and design albums for preserving memories.
• Wall Pictures (Veggbilder) Wall decoration products including canvas prints, photo paper enlargements, aluminum prints, acrylic glass prints, and wood panel prints.
• Personal Posters (Personlige plakater) Customizable poster prints including image collages, family posters, children and baby posters, and wedding/love posters.
• AI Posters (AI Plakater) Artificial intelligence-generated artwork posters for personalized wall art created from user inputs.
• Photo Gifts (Fotogaver) Personalized gift products with photos including mugs, puzzles, and shopping bags.
• Photo Calendars (Fotokalender) Custom photo calendars including wall calendars, desk calendars, and poster calendars.
• Picture Frames (Rammer) Picture frames in various styles including wood frames, metal frames, plexiglass frames, poster strips, and photo holders.
• Photo Albums (Fotoalbum) Physical photo albums for preserving printed photos including pocket albums, adhesive/scrapbook albums, ring binders, design/coffee table albums, wedding albums, baby albums, and guest books.
• Invitations and Cards (Invitasjoner, Takkekort, Bordkort) Personalized invitation cards, thank you cards, and place cards for various occasions including confirmations, weddings, baptisms, and naming ceremonies.
• Disposable Cameras (Engangskamera) Single-use film cameras for capturing moments with authentic analog aesthetic.
• Instant Cameras and Printers (Instant kamera og printer) Instant cameras including Fujifilm Instax and Polaroid cameras, instant printers, and instant film for immediate photo output.
• Analog Cameras (Analogkamera) Traditional film cameras for analog photography enthusiasts.
• Film Development (Filmfremkalling) Professional film development service for disposable cameras and film rolls, available with express option in select stores.
• Passport Photos (Passbilder) Official passport, visa, ID card, and bank card photos taken in-store with quick turnaround.
• Video Transfer (Videooverspilling) Digitalization service converting old video cassettes (VHS, VHS-C, Betamax, Video 8, Hi8, Digital 8, MiniDV) and film (8mm, 16mm, Super 8) to digital formats on USB or DVD.
• Photo Scanning (Skanning) Professional scanning service for digitizing old photographs using high-resolution scanners, with delivery via email, Dropbox, WeTransfer, USB, or hard drive.
• Photo Restoration and Retouching (Retusjering) Photo restoration and retouching service for repairing damaged photos including removing scratches, spots, and fold lines.
• Negative Printing (Negativer) Service for printing photos and enlargements from negatives, including digitalization to image files.
• Slide Printing (Lysbilder) Service for creating prints and enlargements from slide film, plus digitalization to image files.
• Photo to Photo Copying (Bilde til bilde) Service for making new copies from already printed photos, including size adjustments and enlargements.
• Click & Collect (Klikk & Hent) Online ordering with in-store pickup service, including express option for same-day production.
• Express Production (Ekspress) Express production service delivering photo products within 2 hours or same day in select stores.

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

AI capability2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• KlarnaminorOthersPayment processing partner for online purchases. Enables customers to pay via invoice, card, or installment plans. Customer payment data handled per Klarna's privacy policies.
• VippsminorOthersMobile payment option for Norwegian customers enabling easy payment through Vipps app.
• Posten/BringminorOthersLogistics partner for home delivery of photo products throughout Norway. Ships orders via Posten and Bring services.
• GetPrintBoxcoreTechnology or IntegrationProvides the e-commerce platform and print-on-demand infrastructure for Elite Foto's online store, enabling production workflow and order management.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• CEWE: CEWE is Europe's largest direct-to-consumer photo printing and photo book company, operating across multiple countries with a hybrid retail-partner and e-commerce model. It is the closest direct competitor to Elite Foto in product range (prints, photo books, calendars, wall art, gifts) and in its combination of e-commerce with retail touchpoints.
• Ifolor: Ifolor is a Swiss-headquartered photo printing and personalized photo products company serving multiple European markets. Its core offering — photo prints, photo books, wall art, and gifts — overlaps almost entirely with Elite Foto's catalog, making it a strong direct peer.
• Photobox: Photobox is a major European online photo printing and personalized products service (prints, photo books, calendars, gifts, wall décor). It competes head-to-head with Elite Foto in the personalized-photo-product category across European markets.
• WhiteWall: WhiteWall is a Germany-based specialist in premium photo wall art (acrylic, aluminum, canvas, fine-art prints). It competes directly with Elite Foto's Veggbilder / Wall Pictures category, particularly on premium large-format photo products.
• posterXXL: posterXXL is a German/European photo printing specialist focused on large-format wall art, posters, canvas, and photo gifts. It overlaps significantly with Elite Foto's wall decoration, personalized poster, and photo gift categories.
• Bonusprint: Bonusprint is a long-established European online photo printing and photo book service operating across multiple countries. Its product mix of prints, photo books, calendars, cards, and gifts closely mirrors Elite Foto's e-commerce catalog.
• Saal Digital: Saal Digital is a German photo products specialist (photo books, wall art, prints) that competes directly with Elite Foto's Fotobok and wall décor categories. Its premium photo book and gallery print lines are comparable to Elite Foto's classic and design photo book offerings.
• FreePrints: FreePrints is a mobile-first photo printing app offering free and low-cost photo prints to European and US consumers. It competes aggressively on price and convenience with Elite Foto's mobile photo printing service.

Broad incumbents

• Shutterfly: Shutterfly is a large US-based personalized photo products platform offering prints, photo books, cards, and gifts. While it does not operate in Norway, its scale and product breadth make it a broad incumbent reference point for Elite Foto's category economics and competitive dynamics.

Regional players

• Nation Photo: Nation Photo is a French photo printing and photofinishing chain with physical stores and e-commerce. It is comparable to Elite Foto as a regional multi-store photo retail/printing chain, but operates exclusively in France rather than Norway.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebooknb-no.facebook.com/elitefotoAS
• Instagraminstagram.com/elitefoto
• Pinterestno.pinterest.com/elitefoto
• TikToktiktok.com/@elitefoto
• Xx.com/elitefoto
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/elite-foto-as

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Elite foto