Jessops into administration

[gazthomas]

Another one (probably) bites the dust.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20958659

Jessops camera chain in administration

Troubled High Street camera retailer Jessops has gone into administration, with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) appointed as the administrator.

In recent years, it has been hit by increasing competition from supermarkets and internet retailers.

Jessops, which was founded in Leicester in 1935, has 192 stores in the UK and employs about 2,000 staff.

The administrators said that it was "inevitable" that some stores would have to close.

PwC said that while Jessops was a well-known brand with a strong reputation for service, its core marketplace had seen a significant decline in 2012, which was forecast to continue in 2013.

Despite additional funding being made available, Jessops had not generated the profits it had planned, PwC added.

In 2009, Jessops managed to avoid administration by agreeing a debt for equity swap with its lender HSBC.

Jessops becomes the first High Street casualty of 2013, following a raft of firms falling into administration in 2012 including Comet, Clinton Cards, JJB Sports and Game Group.
(read more)

 

[Donny Dave]

Not the first time they've been in financial trouble either ....

One of the reasons they have given for their troubles is that they have lost out to online retailers. I'm not surprised when you see the prices they charge, compared to other sites ....

 

[gazthomas]

I agree. The recent issues with Virgin Megastores (in France) has highlighted an interesting issue - assuming Jessops paid UK corporation tax they're always going to find it difficult to compete with an Amazon.

 

[Donny Dave]

Not just Amazon. WEX Photographic are considerably cheaper as well, both online and in their store.

 

[Tim R-T-C]

Feel sorry for the staff but also for those people who got Jessops cards for christmas. Useless now.

Ultimately it is a doomed business model. People use their phones instead of buying low end cameras and high end cameras are so much cheaper online, as are prints and accessories.

 

[MCW]

I bought my camera from there yesterday (9th Jan).... I am not pleased about this news....

 

[David Goddard]

I was saddened to hear this on the way home today, but in a way I suppose it was inevitable given the way that camera usage has changed.

I find it very unfair when these retailers go into Admin that their Gift Vouchers/cards are unusable - they have already had the money after all, and the card represents a contract which sadly administration/liqudation rules permit to be broken.
I suppose holders could always submit a claim to the adminstrators along with all of the other creditors (which they are), and it would be interesting how much you would need in order for a claim to be considered, let alone get anything back for it.
Still if enough people tried (remember - nothing ventured, nothing gained) then there might be a point to it.

 

[Bungle73]

I bought my camera from there yesterday (9th Jan).... I am not pleased about this news....

Did you pay cash or use a credit card?

 

[MCW]

Did you pay cash or use a credit card?

part cash part debit card.....

it's mainly the warranty I'm worried about, the camera is fully Registered with Fujifilm anyway and I did that last night.

 

[Bungle73]

part cash part debit card.....

it's mainly the warranty I'm worried about, the camera is fully Registered with Fujifilm anyway and I did that last night.

If you'd paid by CC you could have claimed from the CC company, as long as the amount on the CC was over £100, in the event of a problem with it. That's why it pays to use one for puchases over such an amount.

 

[MCW]

true, but I don't have a CC

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Where am I going to get my D&P done now?! Jessops are the only place anywhere near Epsom doing that...

 

[Max]

Apparently all stores have now been closed permanently with immediate effect: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20992125

Very sad news!

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Yes - and extremely inconvenient.

Are there any high street D&P outlets left anywhere? I don't want to trust the Royal Mail with my films and photos...

 

[Lewisham2221]

Yes - and extremely inconvenient.

Are there any high street D&P outlets left anywhere? I don't want to trust the Royal Mail with my films and photos...

I believe Boot's still do.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I thought I read in the papers some months ago that Boots were axing their D&P service?

 

[Lewisham2221]

I thought I read in the papers some months ago that Boots were axing their D&P service?

Ah yes, although appears to be scaling downing rather than axing completely.

A quick Google search doesn't throw up many High Street options, unfortunately. One option is http://www.snappysnaps.co.uk/ , but they are mainly focussed on the London area, although they do have a number of outlets elsewhere. Certainly nothing like comprehensive coverage though.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Snappy axed their Epsom outlet about two years ago...

There is a Boots in Epsom, I'll check it out ( might need sunglasses - the store's lighting makes FGW's HSTs look like the far reach of a deep pit mine at midnight with a power failure ) - otherwise it looks like I'll have to waste an hour paying extra for Snappy's express service on a lot of my trips out via London!

Just had the thought I'll need to find somewhere that does Mini DV to DVD transfer as well..... :roll:

 

[SussexSpotter]

I was planning on getting a new camera from Jessops as that's where I got my last one. Will have to look elsewhere now.

 

[David Goddard]

I was planning on getting a new camera from Jessops as that's where I got my last one. Will have to look elsewhere now.

We have a good range in John Lewis....

 

[PaxVobiscum]

We have a good range in John Lewis....

I know a fair bit about cameras but when buying a camera for my wife's Christmas I got fed up comparing models and prices from online suppliers and Argos, Costco and the like. I went into John Lewis, explained the requirements, and was given a shortlist of recommendations from a young man with excellent product knowledge. I then went for a coffee and compared reviews online on my phone for the shortlisted cameras, made my choice and came home happy bunny after returning to the camera dept to buy it.

John Lewis prices were surprisingly competitive. I know some sales staff in shops know squat about what they sell, but this shopping experience was as it should have been.

 

[crewmeal]

So are there any photographic specialists left? I know Curry's and Dixons sell the stuff but I don't trust the assistants because all they try and do is sell you extra warranties. Their product knowledge is very limited to say the least.

 

[Nym]

Theres a few...

And John Lewis only really sell consumer equipment last I checked, and the next purchase of a camera I'll be making isn't in this range at all.

Oh and btw. They're Administrators not Liquidators, you never know what might happen, don't beleive the BBC when they use the word perminant, this hasn't been used by the Administrators at PWC yet.

 

[crewmeal]

So where would I find a place to demonstrate the different types of lens for my DSLR? Please don't say Google, it just shows reviews.

 

[PaxVobiscum]

So where would I find a place to demonstrate the different types of lens for my DSLR? Please don't say Google, it just shows reviews.

http://www.calumetphoto.co.uk/ is a good place to start. Calumet have branches in a few cities. Another pro supplier of DSLRs is http://www.creativevideo.co.uk/
I've used both for pro video and audio stuff. Because DSLRs are used for some broadcast and film industry work, any of the other broadcast industry suppliers would do but most have few branches.

 

[swj99]

The camera chain was founded in Leicester in 1935 by Frank Jessop

Must have been doing something right to stay in business all those years. So what went wrong ?

In recent years, it has been hit by increasing competition from supermarkets and internet retailers

Sounds like closures like this are the price that our society is paying for what we know as the free market. I think shops that specialise in something have found it increasingly difficult in recent years, due to the proliferation of large shops attempting to sell 'everything'.
Have I got something against large superstores ? No, but an observation I'll make is that when all the small, specialist shops have gone, and all we're left with are huge out of town superstores, such as B&Q, Wickes, Homebase etc, will we still have the same choice and variety of items ? I'm not sure we will. A few weeks ago I needed some plumbing supplies, so in the absence of anywhere that specialised in things like this locally, I went to B&Q. They had 3 shelves of bits and pieces related to plumbing. Homebase and Wickes were similar. I didn't find what I was looking for. The only place I could find it for sale was ebay. But seeing as I couldn't be arsed to wait for days for it to arrive by post, I decided not to bother, and found another way to do the job.

I think Woolworths high street shops eventually became a victim of their own success. As the years went by, they stocked more and more items, until it actually became quite difficult to find things in their shops anymore. And they were competing with more and more retailers who were playing the same game, stocking more and more of the same stuff. Something had to give. Tesco were alright because they sell essentials such as food, so people still did their shopping there anyway. But you couldn't do a weekly shop or buy your petrol in woolworths, so eventually they disappeared from the high street.
Apart from the lack of a pick and mix counter, and the records and tapes, Wilkinsons is the nearest thing left now, and obviously it's not quite the same. They seem to do a lot more in the way of household goods than I remember Woolworths doing.

It's no wonder companies such as Jessops have fallen victim to the slump in high street sales. I have to confess I even used one of their shops as a showroom, when I wanted a wide angle lens for a camera. I chose the one I wanted in there. It was £32. I went home, and found the same thing on ebay for £13. I don't see how shops can compete with internet sellers who doesn't have rent, business rates, electricity and the wages bill that a high street shop has.

The only real mystery to me with regard to internet shopping and sales, is the question of how Royal Mail doesn't profit more from all these people posting ebay parcels back and forth to each other, day in, day out.

 

[GB]

As you say, its very hard to compete with the online market. Perhaps bricks and mortar is a flawed business model these days for the more specialist items?

 

[Nym]

As you say, its very hard to compete with the online market. Perhaps bricks and mortar is a flawed business model these days for the more specialist items?

To be honest I'm more of the opinion that for more specialist items, having 197 stores is way too many.

If they want to get back to their roots and serve markets not served by John Lewis, Currys PC World, Tesco etc. then there needs to be a massive reduction in the number of stores, the market for mid to high end DSLR equipment is not very big, and since the bottom has dropped out of the low end camera market and it is now served in general consumer stores, a contration combined with reduction of stores and a push to more specialist markets might be the only way forwards. Like I said, it's not yet classed as a liquidation, it's currently "In Administration".

You don't need six stores in 'Central' London for example, there was even three on the same road...(!)

 

[Tracky]

They lost their way when they sold out to DSG style operation. Had the family business remained growth would not have been so important and the company may still be trading. Also had they focused on D&P things may have been different. There is little money in high street consumer goods these days thanks to the online retailers.

Its a sad day, but it has been on the cards for some years...

 

[theblackwatch]

A sad day as Tracky says. Jessops has, for me, been part of photography ever since I got my first SLR camera when I was 18. My current dSLR came from there, and I remember in the 1990s I would buy my (Agfa - gone too!) slide film from Jessops. Until I went digital in 2004, I would have my prints developed at Jessops. I wonder how anyone who had any films in for developing last week will be able to collect their prints?

I feel sorry for the 1,300+ staff involved. At the beginning of last week, they probably had a permanent job - now, they haven't and may well even become creditors who are owed wages.