Jessops

[andyoxon]

I was in the local branch just after new year and asked to see a Lumix G5.  The shop assistant did his thing, and I was actually quite impressed with knowledge of the Lumix lens range.  So I had a good look & test of the camera's focus speed etc, said thanks and that I have mostly bought cameras from an actual shop, and would think about it.  Looks like I won't be back now...to Jessops at least.

[rogerzilla]

Did camera shops rely on printing and developing for their income in the film days?

Film was never cheap (OK, Jessops used to give away some crap stuff, but I'm talking Kodak/Fuji colour film at £5 or £6 a roll) and enthusiasts, the target market, would get through several hundred pounds' worth of film a year.  That revenue has completely gone.

[tonycollinet]

For me they went downhill when they stopped selling second hand gear in the shops. It was often that that tempted me to go out of my way to have a look. Then they got rid of second hand, the shops became sterile, and service declined.

[mike]

Was chatting in the pub about this last night.  Should canon / nikon / panasonic and the rest (and pentax, obv. ) have subsidised them to use them as a showroom? 

We figured Apple are successful partly because the apple stores give you somewhere to go and 'try before you buy', on the high street while you're shopping with the family.  If some camera manufacturers did the same, might they be able to pick up enough extra sales over those that didnt?  Jessops would seem to have about the right distribution of shops with reasonable staff and, they'd still sell some stuff directly.

shame.

[andyoxon]

For me they went downhill when they stopped selling second hand gear in the shops. It was often that that tempted me to go out of my way to have a look. Then they got rid of second hand, the shops became sterile, and service declined.

Yes, I'd tend to agree with this.

[clarion]

That's a very good summary.  From my perspective, at least.

[Ian123]

A few weeks ago I went into my local branch and bought a new lens and flash unit for our sony a200 and was very pleased with the price, assistant was most helpful too. Sad to see them go

[rogerzilla]

And...they're gone.

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

The Swindon one only moved to swanky new premises in 2011.  The old shop was never re-let (it's opposite Wilko...need I say more) so that's two dead Jessopses in Swindon.

[Jaded]

Crikey. That's drastic.

[rogerzilla]

TBH, I'm surprised they lasted this long.  High Street consumer electronics, as far as chains, are concerned, is going to be a case of "winner takes all", I think, and unfortunately the winner is likely to be the shower of muppets that is Currys.

I shall celebrate if WH Smith go, because their prices and shops suck, they push cheap chocolate and they started selling fags a couple of years ago.  Ryman (doing well) is better for stationery and you can buy news and mags anywhere.

[Exit Stage Left]

For some reason our local chain of photographic shops, Wilkinson, goes from strength to strength. They compete on price and service.
http://www.wilkinson.co.uk/

[andyoxon]

TBH, I'm surprised they lasted this long.  High Street consumer electronics, as far as chains, are concerned, is going to be a case of "winner takes all", I think, and unfortunately the winner is likely to be the shower of muppets that is Currys.

I shall celebrate if WH Smith go, because their prices and shops suck, they push cheap chocolate and they started selling fags a couple of years ago.  Ryman (doing well) is better for stationery and you can buy news and mags anywhere.

3 Jessops within <7 miles in Oxford area.    They werre quite good for accessories, y'know - like Gorillapods... 

I actually quite like WHSmiths; good for somethings.  Frinstance these were recommended by one of mini ao teachers as some of the best available (for a reasonable price); very good for colour blending apparently.

[rr]

Bang goes the cashback on mini's  telescope then.
Both my father and I have recently bought cameras from them as they had the best price on the ones we wanted. Dad said the service in the shop was awful - but it was just before Christmas so I guess the staff had seen the writing on the wall.

[nextSibling]

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

There was a time in the late 80s/early 90s when I was a regular at their useful New Oxford St London branch. They had a well stocked film dept with a lot of niche product and a good used equipment dept. This was all pre-Interwebs, of course.

[geraldc]

They had too many stores, especially in London. I will miss them.

[Charlotte]

Aaaaaand, here's the future:

http://www.petapixel.com/2013/01/16/canon-launches-its-first-image-square-experience-center-in-canada

[tonycollinet]

And:

[Biggsy]

HMV and Jessops brands might merge!  Who'd fancy walking into a shop reeking of failure?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21168877

[docsquid]

I never bought anything in Jessops. I think there is a place for high street camera stores but they have to offer something that the Internet merchants don't, or offer something different from the pile them high and sell them cheap middle of the road SLRs, although they could offer these as well.

I don't know how Calumet are doing, but I tend to favour them. They have proper pro kit and people who really know their stuff to discuss it with. They offer a rental service for kit. They offer seminars and workshops to learn about your kit. And they run open days and other kinds of events in store. That makes you willing to pay slightly more than the box shifters on the Internet.

Having said that, Calumet didn't have something I wanted in stock, and I phoned Warehouse Express (Wex Photographic). The chap I talked to was very nice, knowledgeable, helpful and much better informed than I could ever remember a Jessops counter assistant to be. I got the impression he had actually used the camera I was referring to. So I bought it off them instead.

I think a high street store has to offer something different. Whether that is pro kit, secondhand kit, a film section, lighting, seminars or whatever. Otherwise the box shifting companies will win.

[LEE]

Selling products where there is an almost infinite number of models and a 12 month obsolescence life is a terrible place to be.

Up until the 1990's cameras were "current" for a decade (much more for some classics like the Olympus Trip) and there were only relatively few models produced by any company.

It was actually possible to visit a camera shop and see everything!!!  "There's all the Pentax cameras...there's all the Canon cameras.."

What percentage of everything can a shop hope to stock now?  1%?  If they stock 10% then 9% will be (wrongly) considered obsolete in a year.

[Biggsy]

It was actually possible to visit a camera shop and see everything!!!  "There's all the Pentax cameras...there's all the Canon cameras.."

What percentage of everything can a shop hope to stock now?  1%?

Less than 1% of compacts/bridges etc; >50% of DSLRs.  But still a large proportion of the public aren't fussy enough to want all the choice in the world.

[andyoxon]

I miss my FE2, and rather sadly it still has a roll of Provia in it, from about 3-4yrs ago, which I never got around to finishing.  I'll keep the camera (and lenses) because I can't bring myself to sell it.  My LX3 has been great, but I need a viewfinder!

I heard that the Bicester Jessops maybe up for a local management buy out and independence, but I think that was before Hilco.

Hi Sam.

[contango]

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.

For a while they would price match on big ticket stuff. I used to be on first name terms with the manager at my local Jessops until he retired and all the policies changed. For a long time he'd price match against web sites even though the company policy at the time was that only retail outlets within 10 miles qualified. As he said if you've got a £180 lens that you can get for £170 the other side of the country you can either drive it and burn more than £10 in fuel or have it shipped for £8.99 in which case you're arguing over £1. For a £4000 lens that you can get for £3200 the other side of the country it's worth taking a weekend out and driving it, so he'd be more amenable to a price match.

Then they changed the policy so they wouldn't price match but he had a little sway because I was a regular customer, then even that got taken away and from there as much as I wanted to support him it was silly to pay full retail price and wait for it to arrive in store so I could go and get it, when a couple of mouse clicks would have it at my door tomorrow for several hundred pounds less.

At the time most of the senior staff in the branch were knowledgable about what they were selling and every once in a while they got some silly stuff in. I still remember the time I'd gone to collect a flashgun and the assistant manager approached me to say they had the 600mm f/4L IS in stock and did I want to see it? Silly question, within 5 minutes I was playing with this beast of a lens in the store and a lot of the staff had never seen a lens like it.

[andyoxon]

600mm f/4L IS   >£5K? 

[contango]

600mm f/4L IS   >£5K? 

I think at the time the RRP was £5999.99

The Mk II version of it (which is light enough to sensibly hand hold, weighing in at 3920g as opposed to more like 5700g for its predecessor) currently has an RRP of £11,299