Jessops Has Closed Down All 187 Stores

Jessops in Chelmsford
Jessops in Chelmsford
Jessops in Chelmsford

Dragons Den Peter Jones Buys Jessops

Update: 31/01/13: Peter Jones from the Dragon’s Den has purchased the Jessops brand. The administrators have informed us that they we have sold the brand and certain other assets to a number of buyers including entrepreneur Peter Jones CBE. While this does not seem to be shops, it likely cover brands, trademarks and patents.

Update 11/1/13: PwC have announced that Jessops will shut all 187 stores in the UK. Friday 11th January will be the final day trading for Jessops. 1370 jobs will be lost.

Jan 9, 2013: Today Jessops went into administration. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has been appointed as the administrator. Jessops has over 200 shops in the UK and employs over 1200 people. Although its fate has not been decided yet, the outlook is not good for high street electrical retailers at the moment.

It was founded in 1935 by Frank Jessop, the first store was called “Jessop of Leicester”.

For many years Jessops were the most respected camera and photography store in the UK. They sold a range of goods including cameras, video recorders, binoculars and telescopes. They also sold film, paper and dark room equipment for amateur photographers who processed film themselves. They provided top rate film developing services too, often producing higher quality than the competitors who provided mail order processing.

However, the digital age took its toll on Jessops. While they moved to sell digital cameras and accessories, much of their business was always in processing and printing film. As digital cameras and home printers improved these services were no longer needed. They did innovate by providing self service printing direct from cameras and memory cards in some stores, however, this only delayed their demise.

Its financial problems were actually first reported in 2007, before the global credit crunch. In a restructure much of its trade was transferred to a new holding company called Snap Equity Ltd. Jessops is currently owned by ABN AMRO.

Today there is little need for a high street camera store. Cameras and their accessories can be ordered online, usually at a cheaper price. With the rise of social media sites such as Facebook, Flickr, Picasaweb and Instagram, people are happy to share photos online rather than print them out.

Jessops had many stores across Essex and all are likely to be affected by the administration. If you need to contact a Jessops store regarding an order then as far as we know they are still in business at the moment (Wednesday 9th January, 2013):

  • Chelmsford – 0844 4990 175
  • Basildon – 0844 4995 322
  • Colchester – 0844 4990 182
  • Romford – 0844 4997 225
  • Southend – 0844 4990 191
  • Lakeside – 0844 4993 285

 

One Comment on “Jessops Has Closed Down All 187 Stores”

  1. Sad news. I bought my first Canon SLR in Jessops. Great camera, had lots of fun with it. Even did a course in black and white photography and set up a dark room in my bathroom. I still have all my darkroom equipment in the loft. I hope that one day I will get to work some magic with the kids – make photos appear in water! Although no idea where I will be buying developer fluid from in a few years time.

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