Fotomat was a once widespread retail chain of photo development drive-thru kiosks located in shopping center parking lots. Fotomat Corporation was founded by Preston Fleet in San Diego, California in the 1960s, (the first kiosk was opened in Point Loma, California in 1965), and became a public company in 1971 and listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in 1977. At its peak around 1980 there were over 4,000 Fotomats throughout suburban United States. Fotomats were distinctive for their pyramid shaped gold-colored roofs and signs with red-lettering. They sold Kodak-brand film and other photography related products and promised one-day photo finishing.

Fotomat had both company-owned stores and franchises. This led to lawsuits between Fotomat and its franchisees over territories.

Fotomat Corporation was acquired by Konishiroku Photo Industry Company, Limited, which is better known as Konica, and removed from the NYSE in 1982. It was later sold to Viewpoint Corporation in 2002.

The company's main product, one-day development was made obsolete by one-hour photo development. Fotomat's main product has since become the online digital photo software site Fotomat.com.

It is parodied as Fotohut in That '70s Show.

References

• Adaptive reuse: fotomat kiosks, '70s icons, given new life in a variety of ways - Up Front Los Angeles Business Journal, Jan 13, 2003 by Darrell Satzman
• Photo of Fotomat, circa 1960s on Flickr
• History of Fotomat Corporation (brief)
• A Fotomat TV spot from 1987
• The logo animation of Fotomat Drive-Thru Movies

Photography | Retail companies of the United States | Franchises