Great question. The buyer bought it willingly because we were so much larger. Bu

Great question. The buyer bought it willingly because we were so much larger. But we were in mostly the same business. I think we were just younger and more technically saavy and had a more pessimistic understanding of the market. I mean, the profitability of printing and photo printing equipment was absurd. We used to laugh that we could shut all 200+ locations down and sell just Agfa supplies out of a garage and make ten times the money.
I left I think, five or six years before the sale occurred. (they were too greedy).

Koenig (80s) > Charette(90s) > Pittman (2006-2009)
– Koenig went Bankrupt in ’92 (I helped franchisees sue them for racketeering. And yes that’s why I left many years earlier.)
– Charette bought (I think) the commercial biz leaving the retail? I don’t remember the date but it’s early 90s.
– Charette went bankrupt and was bought by Pittman around 06, then died in about 09.
– I dunno where Pitman of NJ is today. I assume they’re gone.
– Some of the original company still exists across the east coast locations today – many I opened myself – though I don’t know how much of a shell or operation it is. Because it looks like a shell, boguth by the original mother and son. And assigned to some minor relative in Indiana 😉

So to answer your question. Between our theory of the future and their theory of the future, given it wasn’t an asymmetric bit of knowledge, then I take it as ethical.

Even then, they bought a company that went bankrupt to prevent criminal charges so, they got a deal.