In September, Alexander Sweetwood became the third generation to take the reins of the family business, Unique Photo.

It’s something that may sound quaint in 2015 — and is made even more so by the fact that the family business is selling cameras and photography equipment, an industry that has taken a one-two punch since Y2K: Digital cameras and the 2008 recession.

Sweetwood said the name of the Fairfield-based company is more than just a marketing slogan — it’s an apt description of a business in a seemingly dying industry that not only is surviving, but thriving.

Consider this: With a little more than 100 employees, it’s large enough to keep pace with the stocking power and, more importantly, the prices of online retailers, such as Amazon.

And despite selling a product that most people now are happy to simply get with their phone, it is notching more than $50 million in annual sales.

At Unique Photo, bigger is better.

The 68-year-old company prides itself on carrying 20,000 items — everything from digital cameras and their accessories, lenses and lighting, to offering printing and scanning services. It also makes a point to carry past generations of technology and even so-called “outdated” products such as film in its 50,000-square-foot store.

“We have strategic partners that we work with that help because they know my philosophy is to stock everything in order to compete,” Sweetwood said.

And compete globally.

“My customer base isn’t that 500,000 to 600,000 (people) in the area, but it’s (potentially) hundreds of millions because we have customers all over the world.”

Carrying so many products can be a risk, but it’s a risk that often pays off.

“Someone from Australia just ordered film and we’re the only ones left that have it,” he said. “We bought a lot because we knew it was a popular item and, wherever someone is searching, we want to be.”

Still, as a family business with its roots firmly planted in northern New Jersey, Unique Photo prides itself in being able to offer its customers the personal attention that characterized many of the smaller hometown camera shops from the industry’s peak in the 1980s.

Reinvesting in staff and offering competitive prices work in concert: To edge out any competitors in pricing, Unique Photo provides a rewards card to anyone who makes a purchase there, as well as offering other bundles with accessories.

That means a purchase at Unique Photo earns customers money back on a loyalty card, which can be used in store or online. The company also engages its customers — and expands the brand’s offerings — by providing classes for consumers interested in learning more about the craft.

“We take people who know nothing about photography and give them a photo 101 class, minus the darkroom,” he said. “We explain to them aperture, shutter speed, light and the correlation between all of these elements in taking a picture.”

To manage this balance and curate the best aspects of a big and small business, the company has ebbed and flowed with the market. As a result, it has taken on various incarnations.

“We were, traditionally, only selling to stores and buying in large quantities,” Sweetwood said. “As professional photographers were using large volumes of goods, we started selling to them, also.”

While that might have taken them out of favor with other smaller, family-run stores, the Internet has since changed that. Especially since there are fewer stores competing in the market.

Unique Photo always has seen that as an advantage.

In 2008, in the midst of the economic downturn, Unique Photo moved to its current location in Fairfield from Florham Park with an eye toward expanding by opening its own camera store.

“We moved to here because there was that sharp downturn in camera stores and minilabs,” he said. “(We thought) we could have our own minilab and compete on a larger level.”

As for the future of the store, Sweetwood is confident. Still, with an industry that’s seen so many ups and downs in the last 15 years, there’s always that little bit of uncertainty.

It’ll just take time to see how things develop.

“We’ll certainly know in a couple of years if me purchasing the majority stake in the business was the right move or not,” he said. “But I certainly think that we have a great platform and customer base.”

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