February 28th, 2016

Statement

Dear customer,

We appreciate your concern and your loyalty, and want to take this time to help you understand what has been happening recently. At B&H we value each and every customer; your concern is our concern, and we know you have choices when shopping and your choice of our establishment is something we do not and must not take lightly. We want to continue earning your business and instilling pride in your choice for photo and electronics.

B&H is a family owned business, a success that has been built for over 40 years from a small storefront in New York City to the worldwide enterprise we are today. This is credit to our dedicated and devoted employees, many of whom have been with our company for decades.

Every one of our employees is treated with respect and dignity, no matter of race, religion or gender. The average employee tenure at B&H far exceeds most of our competitors and as well as most employers of any kind. Our employees are well compensated, offered generous benefits, and they are given 17 paid days off in addition to 3 weeks paid vacation. Few companies offer this.

The allegations you have been hearing about are largely made by people who have never set foot in a B&H facility. For the time being, we will address several of the accusations, as they are far from factual. We can declare outright that B&H does NOT have any segregated bathrooms by race or religion, and anyone working at B&H knows that to be true. Additionally, any similar contentions are not only inaccurate, but bizarre.

There are always areas where we can better ourselves, and these are issues that B&H is committed to strengthening as we move forward. Our goal is to create an even friendlier environment for our employees, where there can be no doubt that their needs, concerns, and well being are noticeably our primary focus. Our roots are from a place where discrimination affected so many of the very people who are now part of the B&H family, and we built this company and brand to defy what were the norms around us, and to give everyone the chance to succeed, to care for their families and homes, and to be happy. That will not change, but will only be improved upon.

What you may not be told in these scurrilous narratives is that B&H chose to keep its jobs in New York, rather than opting, as many others do, to outsource jobs to areas overseas where labor rates are lower. Our call centers and online management teams are right here. We chose a very different route, and we continue to make daily decisions taking into account first and foremost our dedicated employees and customers and we will continue to do so.

Over the next few weeks and months, you will hear more and see the growth, and we will make sure our customers and employees are kept keenly aware of the situation. Please feel free to reach to us with any of your concerns and we hope we can continue to earn your business in the future.