Jessops

[andrewc]

Sounds like they are going to follow Jacobs.

https://twitter.com/peston/status/288991299573518338

[clarion]

Oh bother.  They'd just been improving from their Halfords-style nadir a few years ago.

[andyoxon]

I guess the fact that Jessops aren't on a corporation tax 'holiday' doesn't help their finances either...

[clarion]

So that'll be pretty much the end of high street photographic shops.  Now, you'll be able to buy whatever they have in stock at Lektronix'r'us, with all the expert advice and guidance that implies, and nowhere to take films for d+p.

[LEE]

One of the few remaining shops in our high-street (that isn't a coffee shop, charity shop or Pound shop) is Jessops.

I always go in there out of interest, they never have much of a range in there, they are typically very expensive and, as a result, have never bought anything from them.

Digital Cameras are the perfect example of an Internet-shopping commodity.  The best reviews and technical information is on-line, the best range and prices is on-line.  It's easy to ship, usually next-day delivery and the products are usually ultra-reliable.

I bet most people reading this thread knew the writing was on the wall for shops like this more than 5 years ago.  If I were in that business I would have been aware of it 10 years ago......and tried to unload the business to someone else (Zavvi seem like prime candidates to buy a business doomed to death by Internet shopping).

High-street shops need to start charging an entrance fee.  £1 to feel the real thing (before you invariably piss off an buy it online).

[Charlotte]

I can't remember a time when Jessops wasn't shit.

[andyoxon]

AFAIA they've usually been open to price matching the major online sites.  Always useful to go in a try something hands on -  though I think their stock limit (in recent years) was for equipment under ~£600.

[clarion]

True enough, but I like to see and feel things I might want to buy.  A camera, for example, is something I'd want to be sure that it had the features I want easy to access, and that it felt right in my hands.

Same for a bike.  I want to sit on it and try it out, not check my 'inseam' against a chart, and get S, M or L.

Jessops has never been a great chain, but I did find it better than Jacobs.  Depending on the branch, you might find some knowledgeable and helpful staff (or, on the other hand, a bunch of spotty oiks who recommend the most expensive, biggest lens in the shop ).  The Sutton branch is small, and the range limited, but the customer service is excellent.

It's never going to be a Charles Eagle's, or a Janet Green, but it was OK.  And, importantly, it was there.

[andyoxon]

I remember going to the main Leicester Jessops store (before digital cameras!) - was impressive.  There was also a very large Jacobs in Leicester too.

[Biggsy]

I have grudge against Jessops because they dropped Pentax.  So I'm afraid the first thought that comes to mind on hearing the company is in trouble is: Good!!  Mwha ha ha ha haaa.

There are still some independent bricks 'n' mortar shops that seem to be healthy.  Selling cameras on the high street is not a dead concept yet just because a chain hasn't made it work.

[andrew_s]

I remember going to the main Leicester Jessops store (before digital cameras!) - was impressive.  There was also a very large Jacobs in Leicester too.

I went there to buy a Canon F1 when it was the only Jessops store, back in 1981.
At that time, pre-internet by a long way, it was the mail order equivalent of what Warehouse Express is now, and had everything, even the most obscure accessories.

[clarion]

I suppose I have an emotional attachment to the shop, even though I am also a bit negative about them.  I bought my first ever camera from Jessops in Sheffield - Olympus OM-1 £109.  My first compact - Olympus Trip.  My first medium format - Mamiya C220.  First accessory lens - Tokina 28-70.  All from that same shop.  And the Classic Photographica was always an essential stop on trips to London, and the place where I bought a Werra.

[rogerzilla]

I can't remember a time when Jessops wasn't shit.

This.

[rogerzilla]

It's never going to be a Charles Eagle's

Wasn't he the one with the Nazi logo?

[clarion]

Still is.  And I note it I was wrong: It is Charles Eagles (no apostrophe).

Damn good shop, mind, staffed by skilled photographers keen to help.

[rogerzilla]

In the end, they failed because:
 

• Digital cameras do not provide an ongoing revenue stream (which, of course, is the point for the owner)
• They expanded too fast in the 1990s.  They used to be "Jessops of Leicester" and not as widespread
• The service was usually at a Currys level; you might as well buy online.
• It's the recession, stupid.  People aren't going to replace a perfectly good camera if they don't have to.

I do wonder if they saw it coming when the "digital revolution" started. 

[Martin]

I bought a camera from them a couple of years ago as I wanted to touch and feel it before shelling out;

the sales assistant seemed more concerned about selling me a case and memory card than the camera itself and when I told him I didn't want extended blah blah went very cold and uninterested

[Jaded]

More margin in the extras than in the camera.

I've used them occasionally over the last few years, to buy stuff that was in the sale, that wasn't available elsewhere, or to get prints done.

[icenutter]

They expanded too fast in the 1990s.  They used to be "Jessops of Leicester" and not as widespread

There were three in Leeds and two on the same street in Newcastle at one point.

[Biggsy]

Digital cameras do not provide an ongoing revenue stream (which, of course, is the point for the owner)

People go back to upgrade their cameras every year or two because digital technology is advancing so quickly.  People kept film cameras for ages even in economy boom times.  Did camera shops rely on printing and developing for their income in the film days?

On the other hand, mobile phones being used instead of dedicated cameras must be affecting the market.

[Jaded]

Gimme bokeh!!!

[drossall]

I have grudge against Jessops because they dropped Pentax.

Although they didn't entirely, just in the smaller shops, I think. I admired a K30 and a K5 in Jessops and Manchester. Sadly for them, I actually bought a K30 when I found myself near Park Cameras the day after the discounts came in...

[Wowbagger]

I was forced to buy from Jessups a few years ago when I put in an insurance claim on a broken camera.

As it turns out, the camera I bought with the insurance vouchers has turned out to be very good indeed, a Sony Cybershot DSC-N1. I have taken over 8000 photos with it and it has given me no excuse whatever to buy a Lumix, even though I sometimes think about getting one.

[Polar Bear]

When I wanted to buy binoculars and a monocular I was able to try lots in an independent in Northampton.   I bought from them.

When I wanted my digi compact, then my ds,lr I visited Jessops but their stock range was abysmak.  I bought the compact from an independent in Coventry and the dslr online. 

I have looked many times but never bought from Jessops except for film, and a filter in an emergency.    Jessops have been poor for a very long time indeed.

[drossall]

They did lose a lens sale because of uncertainty over the location of their Luton branch.

It was they, not I, who were uncertain. Their Web site located it about two miles from the correct place, and nearer to Dunstable than to Luton. By the time that I had fruitlessly searched the trading estate, and then phoned the store to ask for directions, it was too late to get there and collect the reserved lens.

Since I wanted it to take on holiday, and had no more time for trips to Luton, I had one delivered from Amazon instead.

The map is now correct, locating it in The Mall in the Arndale Centre, as opposed to The Mall in eastern Dunstable.

To be fair the store staff bent over backwards to help, offering to stay open and wait, but I'd have been half an hour late by the time I'd got through the traffic and into a closing car park.