[Closed] JESSOPS, calls in the Administrators

Wow - no high street camera shop chains.

There are three other cam shops in Cardiff, old style ones, I expect they are chuffed to bits.

As far as big chains go, Jessops weren't too bad. Two of the other cam shops here are run by old skool snobs and one is run by a bloke like you'd find on a market stall, aggressively undercutting everyone and everything.

So glad I didn't ask for gift vouchers for Xmas!! 😯

Don't write them off totally just yet - they may emerge with some core stores intact.

Can honestly say I have never been in one.

Will they have to have Big sale 1st? I was after my first DSLR.

Inevitable I suppose, seeing as cameras on phones have got so good now. Shame though, always had decent service in there & most of the staff seem to be enthusiasts so genuinely interested/helpful (unlike eg. currys/comet/etc)

Amazed they've lasted this long to be honest - was never sure what the logic of their store placement in Glasgow was.

"Can you tell me how to get to Jessops"
"which one"
"the one in Glasgow"
"which one"
"The one on Sauchiehall St"
"which one.... theres 3 on Sauchiehall St"

Real shame, I really like my local shop - bought most of my kit from there.

Daft response...the 1 closest to ann summers!!!

Shame, I bought my last 2 cameras in there and found them to be pretty helpful.

Jessops went from Perth 2 years ago. 2 independent shops still going strong.

Don't write them off totally just yet - they may emerge with some core stores intact.

This. I feel there is room of the high street for a well run photographic shop. I was trying to buy a lens this week and looked in the small chain in Kendal and Lancaster. Neither shop had it in stock and Jessops have closed in both locations (I suspect they would have had stock if they had a shop). I am likely to buy the lens in the near future from Jessops or another high street retailer assuming the price is relatively similar to the internet (I was prepared to pay a small premium). I am sure I'm not the only person with this type of shopping habit.

I suspect that the administration process will allow Jessops to exit a lot of stores where they are tied into onerous lease terms (the 3 shops on Sauchiehall St example above is a prime case) and continue as a more streamlined business (no doubt with amended rent terms on remaining leases where possible). One can only hope that the negative publicity caused by the administration process is not fatal.

Play.com in trouble too

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-jersey-20953357

Again. It was just a matter of time. Sadly. Jessops have been dying a slow death for years. I have deliberately not bought there for a couple of years now because I was waiting for this.

However, the fact they lasted so long suggests that a consolidation might mean they survive, lets hope so for the staff.

Hmmm. Bit mixed feelings about this. The staff in the Peterborough branch don't really seem to clued up, although are pretty helpful.

Bought my D80 & 18-135 from them, as well as my SB-700 flash & P300 camera. Mainly because they were just as cheap as online prices.

Last time I was in there though (not busy) I explained that I wanted to buy a particular case but wasn't sure if my camera would fit in it so could I try it out on the display camera? Couldn't just do it myself as the case was locked to the rack. I pretty much got told it was too much effort to do that, and she refused to try it. Seemed a bit rubbish.

not accepting gift tokens or returns on stock according to sky news.

I bought a D3100 and a D5100 from my local shop in the past couple of years because they where close to internet prices. Very hard sell on overpriced insurance and accessories both times.

Bought my 550D from jessops.com, then used their version of reserve and collect so got internet pricing and shop service. Not sure that's a viable model, running a chain of high street show rooms instead of shops. Have always seemed to employ knowledgeable enthusiasts though.

not accepting gift tokens or returns on stock according to sky news.

Isn't that standard practice at this juncture, whilst the assessors, er, assess?

Vaguely remember the same thing happening with Comet, but it was temporary until the administrata had been finished. I think.

Spoke to them about a repair last week and they were less than ****ing useless. They wanted £25 just to give a quote.

Bye bye.

They've been propped up by the manufacturers for years. Bad news though.

I feel for the staff.

I stopped using them when my ex wanted a camera and lens outfit they had on offer. They had 2 branches in Chester back then, with the body in one store and lens in the other, they wouldn't honour the offer and let her walk to the other store to collect the lens, the manager insisted that it needed to be posted 3-4days unless we paid for overnight between branches. Odd way to do business.

Manchester Deansgate branch always excellent - friendly & helpful staff, just as cheap as anywhere else.

I've got mates who work for them too.

Sad days.

terrible company in my experience of the one in penzance. we specced a basic dslr for my daughter late autumn that mother in law wanted to buy her, and had it put by so mother in law could go buy it later that day.

when she did, the staff obviously realized she did'nt know anything about cameras and took full advantage 'persuading' her that she also had to buy an incredible amount on extras (case, battries, chargers etc) at crazy inflated prices.

the staff obviously realized she did'nt know anything about cameras and took full advantage 'persuading' her that she also had to buy an incredible amount on extras (case, battries, chargers etc) at crazy inflated prices.

Hope they got taken back for a refund although I suspect the prices were just rrp

We are losing a shoe shop, outdoor shop, possibly Jessops 😯

Opening soon is Paddy Power just along the street from those shops ❗

I'm surprised the Bath shop has managed to keep going for so long. There are two excellent independent shops in the city, so that's probably what's done the damage, that and Curry's/PCWorld and the interwebz.

Found them excellent when I used them to get my first DLSR, the young girl was very helpful and knowledgeable as she was at Uni learning photography. Yeah they try to sell you extras like all these kind of stores do but I've found the words No thanks works very wel..

This is disappointing. I'd have thought Jessops would have been better placed to survive than other high street stores. A lot of their market focus seems to be £400 DSLR's. I'd have thought margins here were much higher than on £70 compact cameras. Most people will order from anywhere online to save £3 on a £70 camera, but when spending £400 I suspect most will happily pay £30 more than Amazon to buy from a shop. Collect straight away, no lost parcels and peace of mind if there are problems.

I like Jessops mainly for their heroic upselling... Went in to buy a gorillapod, I asked which one I should buy, they said do you have an SLR or a compact, I said a compact, so they tried to sell me a Canon 5D.

I don't know why anyone is surprised...those of you who have bought things from them are in the minority and are not clued up. Anyone who thinks their prices are close to internet prices don't know how to use a search engine properly. Get used to high street shops closing down...internet shopping is crippling them. Everytime I see a new shop open I feel sorry for the owners, they'd be better getting some tech skills and selling online instead. If you need advice on what you're buying, look it up or look at buyers reviews...who takes advice off sales people, especially in big chain stores?!? 🙄

I don't know why anyone is surprised...those of you who have bought things from them are in the minority and are not clued up

I covered that above. Many people will spend a little more on an expensive, fairly fragile item to gain peace of mind. Buy on Saturday, take it back same day if you're worried it's back focusing a little. Spend next day taking photos rather than waiting until Monday to get up early to go to post office before work.

Agree with rest of your post though. Soon the only shops will be selling coffee, drycleaners, key cutting and bookmakers.

d45yth - Member

I don't know why anyone is surprised...those of you who have bought things from them are in the minority and are not clued up. Anyone who thinks their prices are close to internet prices don't know how to use a search engine properly.

Bought my D80 from them the week it came out.
Got a discount - no internet retailers were doing one at the time.
They've price matched in the past as well.

And I wouldn't buy a camera or a lens without trying it out first.

Yes, I do my research on the net, but it's still helpful to talk to someone face to face.

I use a local independent now:
They price match too & have also offered to lend me gear whilst mine was in for repair.
Try that on the internet.

Who is George Michael going to crash into now?

Or was that Snappy Snaps?

Their prices for bodies and lenses were the same as internet prices - hence they made no money...

When buying my D7000 and D4, the only way I could beat Jessops' prices would have been to import from Hong Kong, they were as cheap as the best online shops.

Wasn't Jessops rescued from admin a few years back or was that another camera chain?

Play.com bye bye. People that avoid paying taxes. Yet UK based CD etc sellers have to compete with them. Wasnt fair.

Wasn't Jessops rescued from admin a few years back or was that another camera chain?

I've got a vague recollection that there were profits warnings etc, but I'm not sure if it got quite to the administration stage?

Feeling like a bit of a mug here. Rattling the door of Jessops 9am this morning to part with a walletfull for a DSLR body - thought I'd buy from a shop for peace of mind. 🙁

Feeling like a bit of a mug here. Rattling the door of Jessops 9am this morning to part with a walletfull for a DSLR body - thought I'd buy from a shop for peace of mind. 🙁

Informative thread- so they went under both because they were too expensive and couldn't compete with online, but also because they were too cheap as they were competing with online?

Well I know when I bought my camera the other month Jessops were far from the cheapest. Their lens prices are (sorry, were) ridiculous too!

Trekster - Member
We are losing a shoe shop, outdoor shop, possibly Jessops

Opening soon is Paddy Power just along the street from those shops

POSTED 3 HOURS AGO # REPORT-POST

And the rest!!!!!!!!!!! Seems to be more empty shops that full.

Maybe we dont need so many shops anymore? Going back did we always have such a mass/concentration of super-shop keepers in one place everywhere?

I remember when they were Jessops of Leicester with pages of adverts in Amateur Photographer. I can only assume that they borrowed vast amounts of money to expand as fast as they did and forgot that the reason they were so successful originally was because they offered the best prices, undercutting the high street stores they then became. I guess whoever has been running them for the last decade doesn't have as long a memory as me.

Fairly inevitable, they run shops, pay expensive high street rent and probably pay tax. Wheras their competitors, eg Amazon, have no shops, no high street rents and pay no tax. If they match prices they go bust, if they sell at a small profit, they go bust as no one buys anything.

Always found them rather hit and miss as with most chain stores I surpose
My local store has always been good. But some of them they just want to do nothing helpful

I shall be having a little trip into town to see what bargains might be around though

I paid a slight premium for my Canon G12 because I could pick it up the next day, staff in Dundee were clued up.I had left it to the last min and they brought one overnight from Glasgow to ensure I had a camera to take on holiday the next day,again; try that on the internet.Sorry for people who no longer get to work in something they seem to enjoy.

I remember the original Jessops shop in Leicester, on a Saturday, there would be 30 men (nearly always men!) queueing outside until midmorning, slowly shuffling to get in. They were the cheapest by far, and had a large range of goods in stock.

They went on a buying spree in the late 80's, buying up many independent camera shops, and, generally, paying ar too much for them - I spoke to one of the employees of Geoffrey Creighton in Rugby, they couldnt believe how much was being offered when they were bought out.

Soon, they had 200+ shops. But, the management couldnt keep pace with all the acquisitions, and stock was going missing, staff were leaving, and it was falling apart by the mid 90's. New management came in, made a reasonable attempt at running the business, closing down a lot of shops - why have 4 shops in one town centre? The idea behind that was comical, though Tesco seem to be doing that now.
Then, the big bang Internet took off, and along came digital cameras that were cheap. And cheap means less profit. They were selling £300+ film SLR cameras, making £50ish on each camera sold. Suddenly they were selling consumer goods, rather than specialist equipment, and digital cameras at £100 were only making £10 a sale, so they need to sell more goods, but have far more competition, Supermarkets jumped in, and virtually wiped out the entry level market. So, back to the enthusiasts, who will pay £500+ for a camera, more on a lens. But there is more competition.Hong Kong woke up, and sold these goods for less than anyone in the UK can even buy them for direct from the manufacturer. Right, that 50% of the enthusiast market gone again, as thye are clued up, and know where to get these cheaper lenses.
Add it all up, along with the lowering footfall of the UK 'high street' and there is very little business sense in running a large camera shop chain with real shops.

A single shop, with local management may still turn a profit, they can change their direction at any time - e.g. new phone comes out with a camera better than a Canon S100 etc, what do Jessops do - promote the S100 with 20% off, what does an independent do, get a load of the new phones in and sell those.

The market is too small for a large chain like this now, they'll need to halve their shops, or maybe more, and get some better stock management, then try to take some market share back for the supermarkets, which will be difficult, as people are in them every week to shop, camera shops are thought of once a year at most, more like once every 3 years now for the majority of people.

Jessops of Leicester, huge price list that you needed a magnifying glass to read, staff that were knowledgeable and had good training, the stores were packed to the doors with customers, Alan Jessop who used to drive about in a battered estate, visiting stores unexpectedly, they were the good times for Jessops.

Everything started to change for the worse IMHO when Alan and the family left.

I was listening to an intersting chap on the news who was saying that retail outlets are rapidly becoming proxy showrooms for online retailers. I know, in my business of folk, routinely coming into retailers and basically looking for what they want, sometimes getting designs done, and then literally while still standing in the shop going online to find the lowest price before either walking out buying nowt, or trying to beat the retailer down to the online price.

All fair enough I suppose, but the down side of that being a good mate who recently closed his LBS, who experienced, people coming in asking to borrow tools to put together their online purchases, bringing their online purchase in for fitting/assembly and then refusing to pay for the service, and bringing their online purchase in for work under "gurantee". In all instances throwing their hands up in horror when he wanted to charge a reasoanble going rate for doing it.

Its a really serious change in the way our world runs. I wonder where it will eventually go. Only just starting IMHO.

High street will end up as clothes and services shops (dry cleaning, coffee shops and restaurants). Everything else will be delivered direct from warehouses.

There was a girl on the radio a day or so ago during a piece on high streets. She was saying that she will go on a shopping trip for clothes with the sole aim of trying stuff on, then going home having bought none of it & ordering it cheaper online.

To me, that is out of order. Not sure what the shops can do to combat it though to be honest.

Read this and you will understand why it's happening

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-01-08/amazons-jeff-bezos-doesnt-care-about-profit-margins

My last two experiences were poor; they are supposed to offer a price match yet with both my last lenses could not meet the competitor's prices. Obviously I went elsewhere. Shame because I really want to support local business / high street store but when they fail to deliver something they openly promote it's always going to end badly..

Thats pretty scarey bikechain, although what it does say is that Amazon are actually very vunerable if things change in some way, either by way of investor perception or global economic changes or whatever. It could all collapse very fast. Business on a promise of jam tomorrow is entirely dependant on people beleiving that the jam will arrive. Once that conepet becomes too abstract the party is over.

Business on a promise of jam tomorrow is entirely dependant on people beleiving that the jam will arrive. Once that conepet becomes too abstract the party is over.

We have a winner. It's just gambling.

Business on a promise of jam tomorrow is entirely dependant on people beleiving that the jam will arrive. Once that conepet becomes too abstract the party is over.

We have a winner. It's just gambling.

Lets just hope that happens before the high street is irrevocably damaged

Lets just hope that happens before the high street is irrevocably damaged

It's just evolution / change, inevitable that things won't stay the same for ever.

Jessops were funny, as others have said they often didn't have much stock or knowledgeable staff yet because of their price matching you could nearly always get what you wanted at the best price. Even if they didn't have it in stock if it was on their web site they would get it in for you.

The difference between them and the online shops is the online ones don't have expensive shop front rentals to pay.

That said i've spent a lot of money over the years on camera kit and the majority of it through jessops; after all you can handle the items before you part with your cash.

At the end of the day the market for consumer point and shot cameras has collapsed and pro's are not well catered for by Jessops.

Really the blame lies with the camera companies; Canon, Nikon etc. They've seen camera phones looming on the horizon for 5years+ and done absolutely nothing to counter the problem.

Really the blame lies with the camera companies; Canon, Nikon etc. They've seen camera phones looming on the horizon for 5years+ and done absolutely nothing to counter the problem.

I don't get how they are at fault for Amazon et al undercutting Jessops and killing the camera shop business model (bar small specialists).

EDIT: Nikon is actually doing ok: http://nikonrumors.com/2012/05/12/nikon-reported-better-than-expected-financial-results-for-2012.aspx/

Flawed business model - bricks and mortar sites that can neither compete on specialisation nor price are essentially doomed. No-one has a predetermined right to exist in business. Fleeced me once, so never went back but have subsequently used both specialist and amazon. No surprise that the latter both survive even today.

Everything else will be delivered direct from warehouses.

Which is I guess why you've built one in your garden. 🙂

duckman - Member

I paid a slight premium for my Canon G12 because I could pick it up the next day, staff in Dundee were clued up.I had left it to the last min and they brought one overnight from Glasgow to ensure I had a camera to take on holiday the next day,again; try that on the internet.

Have you not heard of next day delivery guaranteed before a cetain time? There is nothing stopping anyone from phoning/emailing the online seller and getting them to post with a different option from those listed on their site.

theroadwarrior - Member
That said i've spent a lot of money over the years on camera kit and the majority of it through jessops; after all you can handle the items before you part with your cash.

I don't get how they are at fault for Amazon et al undercutting Jessops and killing the camera shop business model (bar small specialists).

EDIT: Nikon is actually doing ok: http://nikonrumors.com/2012/05/12/nikon-reported-better-than-expected-financial-results-for-2012.aspx/

Jessops are going under because

1. Granny Smith is no longer buying whatever Canon Powershot compact to take pictures of her grandchildren, she's using her iphone because she can email the picture straight to her family living in some-far-flung location, easily and quickly. She thinks it's great because she no longer has to turn on that slow gray box in the corner and find that annoying fiddly lead to connect the camera and then spend 20minutes trying to remember how to attach a photo to an email.

2. Young hip photographers are using instagram et al to share photos and publicise themselves on the web, instantly the second they take the picture.. straight to Facebook, Tumblr etc

3. Pro's are better catered for by shops such as Calumet and a lot even rent their gear these days.

Canon etc meanwhile have sat on their arses for 5years or more just increasing the pixels in their cameras and coming out with increasingly irrelevant software programs for printing your photos in an attempt to lock you in with them. Suddenly they're making a product people (See above) no longer want. Jessops sell this product, or not as the case may be..

Whilst camera phones have eaten into the camera market to some extend, I think it's in addition to Camera sales. Eg Nikon seems to be doing OK sales wise - huge demand for their kit right now, just that people don't buy their products from shops any more - or at least not from Jessops. NB I bought my kit for Jessops as they could get hold of it, biggest problem with the Pro kit is demand outstrips supply, at least initially.

Assume you don't use amazon/google either then Hora?

Careful up there on that pedestal.

I don't use Amazon. My point is how can UK Retailers compete effectively on price if others are allowed to sell into the UK with a difference of 20% on their business model?

Yeah, it was a daft rule, but the origins of the company were people from Jersey spotting a gap in the DVD market, it wasn't started with a plan to exploit the loophole, obviously it grew from there.

But this loophole is not the reason Jessops et al have suffered as it only affected low value items anyway.

I should say that my last point and click purchase from from Jessops - and my DLSR (5 years ago) was from Jessops!

Jessops have been bailed out time and time again by certain big names in the camera industry, it was only inevitable that this would happen. I feel sorry for the staff but the company has helped force many small camera shops to close down in the last few years.

I work in a small independent camera shop and we could not compete with Jessops as they would sell the cameras and lenses for less than we could buy them for from the manufacturers, they would then hard sell accessories at full rrp to get some money in. How can a company think it will survive by not making any money on cameras and lenses and think it could survive on the profit from accessories such as memory cards and cases?

The profit we make on new cameras is under 10%! We keep new cameras in stock but do most of our business with secondhand equipment. If we relied on new equipment, we would be out of business.
people think that just because a camera sells for £400 plus the shop must be making a huge profit, this simply is not the case anymore.

phone cameras might have dented sales of cheap compacts but if anything there are more "decent" cameras around than ever before. Go to a wedding now and half the guests have DSLRs. Whether these users were introduced to photography by a compact digital or a phone, surely the market and profit is in higher end kit and all the myriad accessories.

The profit we make on new cameras is under 10%!

You should try the car industry - margin on a £20k car is normally around £200 i.e. 1%!

Go to a wedding now and half the guests have DSLRs.

Yep - in some cases the guests have more expensive kit than the pros!

Car industry is known to have the lowest profit margin of around 0.5% to 1.5% - how the industry stays afloat I will never understand...

No bargains or fire sale - all shuts for good tonight...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20992125

So, sometime around 16:30 today Jessops' administrators announce that all their stores will be closing at end of play today. 😕

I know that the administration announcement gave a bit of warning, but even so, that's pretty short notice.

So very sad for all the staff who suddenly dont have a job, or possibly any pay till the auditors find some cash to pay them, while all the stock is pulled out of the stores and re sold by whoever.

Quite quickly folowed by another few high street shops who are failing.

I think we've also forgotten one big driver that went missing from Jessops

Film

They were always one of the best places to get film and processing - and that kept you spending money there, kept you going into the shops, seeing the new stuff and buying stuff.

No need for any of that that anymore!

I think we've also forgotten one big driver that went missing from Jessops