Jessops in administration.

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussion' started by roders, Jan 9, 2013.

  1. roders

    roders Total Gardener

    Joined:
    Feb 26, 2006
    Messages:
    6,222
    Gender:
    Male
    Ratings:
    +7,185
    :smile: Bad news, another high street retailer in big trouble.
    A lovely shop to browse and us guys go somewhere else online and buy.
    Sad but true.:mad:
     
    • Like Like x 2
    • Scrungee

      Scrungee Well known for it

      Joined:
      Dec 5, 2010
      Messages:
      16,524
      Location:
      Central England on heavy clay soil
      Ratings:
      +28,997
      That's a real shame - aren't they just about the last of the High Street camera shops?

      http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/...89/Jessops-collapses-into-administration.html

      And double shame because they were a Tesco Deals Partner and you could occasionally exchange your Clubcard Vouchers for twice their value to spend instore at Jessops.

      There's getting to be less and less choice on the High Street. How the likes of PC World survive with their high prices and lack of sales staff amazes me.

      And Jessops were always doing some good deals http://www.hotukdeals.com/search?action=search&keywords=jessops
       
      • Like Like x 2
      • rustyroots

        rustyroots Total Gardener

        Joined:
        Oct 18, 2011
        Messages:
        2,264
        Gender:
        Male
        Location:
        Solihull, West Midlands
        Ratings:
        +2,946
        Just heard about it on the radio. Apparently the sale of cameras over the christmas period has dropped by around 90% and the sale of mobiles and tablets have soared. The expert on the radio was saying that the decline is due to the quality of phone cameras are excellent now and it's much easier to share photos. I personally only use a camera now if I want to post a picture on here. Sad but true, technology is getting that advanced that I think in the near future an awfull lot of other thing will disappear.

        Rusty
         
      • Fat Controller

        Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

        Joined:
        May 5, 2012
        Messages:
        27,747
        Gender:
        Male
        Occupation:
        Public Transport
        Location:
        At me 'puter, GCHQ Ashford Office, Middlesex
        Ratings:
        +52,168
        Very sad - but as Rusty rightly says, a lot of it must be due to the quality of phone cameras.

        I'm not entirely surprised either, as they have been in trouble for quite a while.
         
      • Fat Boy

        Fat Boy Guest

        Ratings:
        +36
        Imagine how fast technology rises to die an equally fast death.

        Digital cameras are not that old (esp. in comparison to film cameras) and even though the camera technology exists in phones and tablets, the speed of the demise of the dedicated digital camera is almost breath-taking.
         
        • Like Like x 2
        • Fat Controller

          Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

          Joined:
          May 5, 2012
          Messages:
          27,747
          Gender:
          Male
          Occupation:
          Public Transport
          Location:
          At me 'puter, GCHQ Ashford Office, Middlesex
          Ratings:
          +52,168
          I think its definitely a double whammy though to be fair - the march of technology coupled with more and more people choosing to shop online.
           
          • Like Like x 1
          • Spruce

            Spruce Glad to be back .....

            Joined:
            Apr 10, 2009
            Messages:
            8,776
            Gender:
            Male
            Ratings:
            +12,362
            Just heard on sky any xmas vouchers etc bought as presents, people cant get the ££ back .

            Spruce
             
          • clueless1

            clueless1 member... yep, that's what I am:)

            Joined:
            Jan 8, 2008
            Messages:
            17,778
            Gender:
            Male
            Location:
            Here
            Ratings:
            +19,597
            It is of course sad, especially for those that will inevitably lose their jobs, but what is even more sad is that in Britain, we still see a lot of bury-your-head-in-the-sand-and-hope-it-never-happens mentality in business.

            The most (the only?) successful businesses adapt rapidly to changing trends and demands. Amazon is the best example I can think of. They realised that the sale of books couldn't sustain them, so they branched out into other areas, and then they invented their Kindle e-reader. What did Jessops do? Surely the directors were watching the rise of the smart phone and social networking? In recent years we've seen the almost total demise of 'film' in cameras, all going digital instead. Losing 35mm takes out a sinificant chunk of the market made up of 'casual/amateur' photographers (people who want to take a few snaps of their family or on holiday). I wonder what percentage of their customer base are serious enough to buy a dedicated camera by choice rather than being satisfied with one on a phone? I wonder what percentage of their customers would spend £10, £20 or £30 per month on a phone contract to get a decent phone? What demographic profile their customers match etc.

            These are all examples of questions Jessops' directors should have been asking regularly. Clearly they weren't. This shift in trend didn't come from nowhere, its been happening steadily for a few years. There's no excuse at all for not spotting it and adapting to it.
             
            • Like Like x 1
            • rustyroots

              rustyroots Total Gardener

              Joined:
              Oct 18, 2011
              Messages:
              2,264
              Gender:
              Male
              Location:
              Solihull, West Midlands
              Ratings:
              +2,946
              Your right clueless, the the directors are pulling the plug and probably are sitting with money in the bank and no financial worry. Unlike the poor people who have lost there job. I also heard on the news the other day that HMV are in trouble and also look likely to shut. As you said in your previous post about Amazon why have HMV not done the same especially as they were close to calling in the administators last year. I went in on the run up Xmas to buy a CD and went to what I thought was the the front of the queue only to be told by the lady who I thought was at the front that the end of the queue was right around the shop and she had waited 45 minutes. They only had 2 people on thrctills and 4 tills not open. I put the CD down and went to WHSmiths.

              Rusty
               
            • Fat Boy

              Fat Boy Guest

              Ratings:
              +36
              (post#8 - cross-posted with rusty)
              Jessop's director(s) did - one jumped ship to HMV before this announcement. Let's see how quick that one will destroy HMV, too.
               
            • Scrungee

              Scrungee Well known for it

              Joined:
              Dec 5, 2010
              Messages:
              16,524
              Location:
              Central England on heavy clay soil
              Ratings:
              +28,997
              Sadly I believe this situation hasn't been helped by modern digital cameras needing a 200 - 300 page manual that's on a disk so requires a laptop to be carried around to check stuff out, that has 3 gazillion combinations of settings when old film SLRs only needed focusing, shutter speed or aperture selecting and the exposure meter needle lining (only 3 things). And then you need to spend hundreds of pounds on photo editing software.

              And another thing, modern DSLRs are massive compared to the likes of old OM1 SLRs are so are the sizes of modern auto-focus lenses (because people can't be bothered to turn a focusing ring) another disincentive to buying modern camera gear that (in my opinion) has got so bloated and complicated that so many people are now just opting for snaps from their camera phones.
               
              • Like Like x 1
              • Fat Controller

                Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

                Joined:
                May 5, 2012
                Messages:
                27,747
                Gender:
                Male
                Occupation:
                Public Transport
                Location:
                At me 'puter, GCHQ Ashford Office, Middlesex
                Ratings:
                +52,168
                One of the other big factors faced by modern businesses (and not just retail) is the dividend expected by the shareholders - - there are a number of businesses with a fairly healthy turnover, and in profit to the tune of a good few million a year, BUT that amount of profit basically equates to being the same amount of money that the shareholders would have made had they simply put their investment money in a bank for the year and let it sit there gathering interest.

                If you were the sole owner of a company, and had invested £1m in it, and you were seeing a profit of £30k a year you wouldn't be chuffed - but you might put up with it for a few years until things turned around; shareholders are not likely to put up with performance like that for long, and will want to take their money elsewhere, and thus brings about the downfall of the business.
                 
                • Like Like x 1
                • ARMANDII

                  ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

                  Joined:
                  Jan 12, 2019
                  Messages:
                  48,096
                  Gender:
                  Male
                  Ratings:
                  +100,844
                  Well, unfortunately, the signs about Jessops has been there some time. Last year the CEO stepped down,was replaced by another guy who left within weeks, and then the Chairman took over. When that sort of management upheaval takes place then it's the classic sign of problems.
                  Don't forget that in July of last year Jacobs, another big Photographic Street Retailer also closed. Jessops then was, publicly, full of confidence for the future. But over the last few years small photographic retailers have disappeared from the High Street along with a lot of other retailers [big and small].
                  I don't think that phone cameras have been the sole villain in the demise of Jacobs, Jessops and other photographic retailers. A lot of buying is done on line now and Jacobs and Jessops didn't really handle that well. A lot of people would walk into their shops, handle and try out equipment and then go and buy it cheaper on the Net. I confess I've never been into a Jessops or Jacob and the last time I stepped into any photographic shop was decades ago.....and yet I consider myself as a keen amateur photographer.
                  Photography with cameras is, in my opinion, not on the decline. In fact all of the front line Camera Manufacturers are churning out new models in all ranges all the time and reporting good and rising sales. Olympus has just survived a multi billion fraud loss and yet is also still forging ahead undeterred with new models of cameras.
                  I think it's a combination of the convenience and cheaper prices on the Net, the high rents, rates, and wages the businesses have had to bear during the recession and not being able to match the discounted prices you can get on the Net. I like mooching around in a shop for items but was never inclined to walk into a Jessops or Jacobs because I knew I was chasing a cheaper price than they could offer me. So I don't think it's so simple as to blame the demise of High Street shops on one single thing.
                   
                  • Like Like x 3
                  • Jungle Jane

                    Jungle Jane Middle Class Twit Of The Year 2005

                    Joined:
                    Dec 12, 2010
                    Messages:
                    2,070
                    Gender:
                    Female
                    Occupation:
                    Local Nutcase
                    Location:
                    South Essex
                    Ratings:
                    +3,225
                    This.

                    A lot more people are taking up photography as a hobby, buying DSLRs and the lens' to match. Than people used to do with SLR's. Jessops catered mostly for this market, but their prices were way too high compared to what you could buy online.

                    These companies nowadays seem to go from emerging, then to out beating independent shops in business, then over expanding because of this and then once the market begins to shrink the business becomes a much weaker than before. HMV, Game and Comet are a very good idea of this where businesses have expanded in the good times thinking it would continue for decades.
                     
                    • Like Like x 2
                    • clueless1

                      clueless1 member... yep, that's what I am:)

                      Joined:
                      Jan 8, 2008
                      Messages:
                      17,778
                      Gender:
                      Male
                      Location:
                      Here
                      Ratings:
                      +19,597
                      I was never really a customer of Jessops, but only because I'm not really into photography. What did they do to make people walk in through their doors? If I was walking past, why would I stop and consider going in? If I wake up in the morning and suddenly decide I want a good camera, would I not just order one online?

                      Every shop needs something to make people come in and have a look, when they would normally walk past. Every shop in Redcar high street catches my attention in some way, even shops that don't sell anything I might want. Even Heron Frozen Foods catches my eye with offers of 3 gazillion frozen pork chops for 30p plastered all over the windows. I can't think of any reason to walk into Jessops except to buy a proper camera, which I'd do online if I wanted one. Surely they need to be doing things like low cost photo enhancement services while you wait, or print from your photo onto canvass or t-shirts. Gimmicks like that that get people in the door and earn them 'bread and butter money', knowing that while you're in the shop, you are primed to be relieved of more of your money for less gimmicky things they sell.
                       
                      • Like Like x 1
                      Loading...

                      Share This Page

                      1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
                        By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
                        Dismiss Notice