Sad news: Jessops is to close its doors, leaving 1,370 employees out of a job. Just one day after Jessops went into administration, administrators PriceWaterhouseCoopers announced that all 187 stores would close.
Shops will begin shutting today. 1,370 jobs will go in stores, with more job losses to follow at the company's head office in Leicester. PWC blames a lack of support from suppliers, without which the chain cannot continue to trade, for the death of the 77-year-old company.
The Jessops website is still showing cameras and other products, complete with prices, but you can't buy them. You also can't return goods bought from Jessops. If you do have a problem with a camera or other kit bought from Jessops, try contacting the manufacturer; Nikon told me today that you can return faulty kit for free.
Nikon says it's working on completing outstanding repairs to kit being fixed under Jessops Photo+ extended warranty, and will contact affected customers directly.
The Jessops photo service is still available.
Jessops is the first high-street casualty of 2013, following a raft of closures last year. The biggest gadget shop to go under is Comet, which crashed to Earth leaving a £50m unpaid redundancy bill to be footed by the taxpayer.
Meanwhile, HMV has launched a major sale to raise fast cash as it too struggles to meet debt obligations. It seems unlikely that Jessops will hold a sale.
Do you have good memories of Jessops? Do gadgets have a place on the high street or is the electronics shop dead? Tell me your thoughts in the comments or on our Facebook page.
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anonymous 11 January, 2013 20:10
Its a bit sad...I like Jessops, but I did always wonder how they could keep so many stores open. In central London you're hardly ever more than 200m from one. Maybe they should have kept a couple of flagships in London, a store in each of the really big cities and focussed on their online business.
anonymous 11 January, 2013 20:16
When you do not keep in touch with reality this is bound to happen. Internet shopping has been increasing and knowledge acquisition about products is much easier through internet. If you have sales people in shops with no expertise in the products they are selling and prices not competitive they will have to close sooner or later. It is unfortunate when people lose jobs but if the management does not understand the fundamental way business has changed in the last decade they should own moral responsibility of the plight of the employees.
Matt Tacchi 12 January, 2013 17:02
This is very sad news indeed for all the employees who will loose their jobs. I think Jessops is a wonderful company and I wish everyone all the best in finding new positions else where.