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Lensrentals , a giant in the online rental religious service for exposure , telecasting , audio and lighting equipment , has announced its accomplishment of BorrowLenses , a key competitor in the space of photographic and video equipment lease , TechCrunch has learn solely . It ’s a competitory space in a trade good mart , where neither brand name has an obvious sharpness over the other . Neither company is unforced to comment on the terms of the deal , but a source familiar with the deal suggests this is likely an all - cash acquisition .
BorrowLenses , in turn , has had an interesting journey . The troupe wasacquired by Shutterflyabout a X ago . Shutterfly was public at the time , but was sinceacquired by Apollo — yes , the same Apollo that bought Yahoo , which owns TechCrunch — back in 2021 .
establish in 2006 , over the years Lensrentals got the sharpness over BorrowLenses , both in terms of telephone number of staff and overall number of client . Operating from its headquarters in Tennessee , Lensrentals has cultivate a reputation for being a good place to lick ( the fellowship is in large part owned by its employee ) , and that takes care of its client well .
Tyler Beckman , CEO of Lensrentals , tells TechCrunch that his troupe has seen BorrowLenses as “ friendly rivals ” that “ push each other to excel , ” and that the society sees the attainment as an opportunity to run into the benefits of control at big graduated table .
“ When you put ownership in the hands of employee , good things happen for customers . We look onward to all BorrowLenses client getting to experience what I think of by that , ” enounce Beckman .
It is not yet clear what the acquisition means to the job security for the stave at BorrowLenses , nor the San Carlos location itself . A germ familiar with the deal says that the acquisition is come about very quickly , and that the Lensrentals team is evaluating the viability of keeping the employee and the location as the mental process blossom .
BorrowLenses has a broad extract of train — a source at the society says that its asset demand to be integrate into Lensrentals ’ existing inventory of more than 400,000 rentable item across more than 6,000 different lenses , cameras , drones , lighting , audio recording and studio apartment equipment — which has enabled it to contend with local camera rental operations . tight nationwide shipping and comprehensive indemnity give the company an sharpness over often poorly run mom - and - pop tv camera letting shops .
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The company also introduced the Lensrentals Keeper Program , which , with the informal slogan “ if you like it , keep it , ” enables client to purchase gear they have rent at a reduced Leontyne Price . photographer have embraced the programme as a gloomy risk of infection to buy secondhand gearing : Do a few shoots with the genus Lens , and if it works well , they buy it at a steep discount . It ’s not unimaginable that the newly merged company will get down liquidating excess gear , so now might be the sentence to keep an eye out for effective offers .
Similar to Lensrentals , BorrowLenses boasts an across-the-board inventory . The independent departure between the companies is their geographic footprints . BorrowLenses has establish a strong presence in certain regions , complementing Lensrentals ’ national reaching . This set approach — for some cause it ’s more reassuring if a electron lens get send a few hundred mi than thousands of miles across the land — has enable BorrowLenses to cultivate close family relationship with its customer base .
Over the years , BorrowLenses has also set a potent vehemence on educational content , offer tips , tutorials and guides plan to help client make the most of their rental experience . This focal point on instruction and support has not only raise the customer experience but has also position BorrowLenses as a intellection leader in the creative industry , commit to empowering photographers and videographers at all skill levels .
In many way , the acquisition represents an obvious one : Two companies that are so interchangeable that they are hard to keep apart help augment each other with small , incremental improvements in localized presence and educational initiatives .
Of course , Beckman tell TechCrunch that Lensrentals was keep on its toe by the competitor from BorrowLenses . In theory , the client win when a single , monolithic company can reap the benefits of operating at a greater scale . In practice , it remains to be seen if the prices will stay put the same and the larger ship’s company will be able to keep back its personal - touch repute when that ingredient of friendly contention is removed .
