Competitive Cameras founder Ramzi Jabbour passed away last weekend from complications from cancer. He was 72 years old.
Competitive Cameras is one of the largest specialty camera retailers in the U.S. Located in an unassuming strip of Irving Boulevard near downtown Dallas, the store attracts customers from all over the country.
Under the leadership of Jabbour and his son Eugene, who took over in 2012, Competitive has managed to stay true to its name by offering expert service and hard-to-find equipment in a world where everyone has an iPhone.
“Photographers from all over the world, both professional and amateur, have known Ramsey since his early days when he ran a small business in Garland.” Dallas Morning News“He and his family have supported the DMN Photography Department for many years and continue to do so today.”
Allison V. Smith, former staff photographer newsJabbour said he was “a friend to all photographers.”
When she was 19, she bought her first lens from him: a 135mm 2.8 for her Nikon. “My mom went with me. It’s a special memory.”
In 1980, the Lebanon-born Mr. Jabbour and his wife, Mary, who was pregnant with their second child, were traveling around the country on vacation, looking for a place to relocate from Minneapolis to raise their son and soon-to-be daughter.
When the couple saw the Dallas skyline, they decided they didn’t need to look any further: They thought Big D’s sparkling skyline looked just like the Emerald City.
“Dallas was new and vibrant,” Jabbour recalled in a 2003 interview. “Having grown up in the Middle East, everything was antique…2,000, 3,000 years old. It was very striking to see all these modern buildings.”
In an interview, Mr. Jabbour acknowledged that some Old World-style friendly negotiation took place, but drew the line at calling it haggling. “Our prices are at the bottom, so there’s very little room for negotiation,” he said.
“We’ve survived by keeping our expenses very low, working hard, knowing what we’re selling and focusing on volume instead of big margins,” Jabbour said. “We’ve grown volume with every single customer.”
The first store opened in Garland in 1982 and moved to its current Irving Boulevard location in 1999.
A major turning point for Jabeel came in 1987. news A special lens was needed for the Pope’s visit to San Antonio, and he had it in stock and quickly delivered it to the newspaper office downtown.
““My father was born in Lebanon but became an American at heart,” Eugene Jabbour, 45, said.
“My dad came to this country and put it all on the line, waking up early, staying late, working long hours after other men would have called it a day, and building Competitive Cameras into one of the most respected photo and video retailers in the country. He embodied the American dream.”
Ramsey Jabbour is survived by his wife of 48 years, Mary Jabbour, his son Eugene and his wife Melanie Jabbour, his daughter Gina Park and her husband Jonathan Park, his brother Gabriel Jabbour, his niece Gigi Jabbour, his grandchildren Preston Gaffer, Caitlin Jabbour, Olivia Jabbour, Jackson Park and Sam Park, and his grandnieces Isabella Euburn and Sophia Euburn.
Service is pending.
