jessops - more lives than a cat ?
Discussion
had a search and found nothing , cannot believe this has not been mentioned here !
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/sep/29/jes...
should they have been allowed to go under ? or is this a wise move ?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/sep/29/jes...
should they have been allowed to go under ? or is this a wise move ?
The banks clearly see that there is some form of business that is sustainable (and they want some of their money back). They are probably right - Jessops have a trusted brand by much of the public (though less and less by the savvy/technical buyer). They have good retail space in city centres, web presence, etc. In a smaller form (remove duplicated city centre shops, improve web integration, staff knowledge and more defined sales strategy) they probably have some form of future?
plg101 said:
The banks clearly see that there is some form of business that is sustainable (and they want some of their money back). They are probably right - Jessops have a trusted brand by much of the public (though less and less by the savvy/technical buyer). They have good retail space in city centres, web presence, etc. In a smaller form (remove duplicated city centre shops, improve web integration, staff knowledge and more defined sales strategy) they probably have some form of future?
They removed the duplicated city shops in Basingstoke - unfortunately they seemed to lose the knowledgeable staff from the older store, and the newer store is staffed by relatively useless people.Its possibly sustainable, but whilst I'd miss the presence of a high street photographic store, a lot of people will be equally happy to call into Currys/Comet/PC World for a camera or accessories.
They're sadly just a shadow of their former selves, nowhere near the expert company they once were.
Jessops is a really sad story for me. A few years ago all the stores I ever visited were manned by some of the best sales / advice staff on the high street. They all seemed passionate about photography and knowledgeable too. I was happy to pay high street rather than internet prices for that advice and expertise.
Now their staff (again, of the stores I've visited) are complete cretins. I refuse to use the Canary Wharf branch as it's staff resemble deeply unmotivated Trolls. I've tried to spend sizeable money there on three occasions and been absolutely disgusted by the attitude of the staff. The Liverpool Street branch didn't know how to change lenses on my D300 when I asked to try a lens out there (and they weren't comfortable with me doing it). The Enfield town branch is somewhat reminicent of Acorn Antiques.
Plus they've dummed down their stock and very few stores seem to carry anything other than kit lenses. A lot of the stores feel like discount stores to me that are part way through a huge stock clearance sale.
Given they must have the biggest chain of high street camera shops in the UK (can't image London Camera Exchange, Jacobs, etc. come even close) you'd think they'd have great purchasing power from buying in bulk and ought to have had a relatively robust business. I don't buy that camera phones have stolen their business. Everyone and their Mums has a DSLR whenever I'm out and about.
Now their staff (again, of the stores I've visited) are complete cretins. I refuse to use the Canary Wharf branch as it's staff resemble deeply unmotivated Trolls. I've tried to spend sizeable money there on three occasions and been absolutely disgusted by the attitude of the staff. The Liverpool Street branch didn't know how to change lenses on my D300 when I asked to try a lens out there (and they weren't comfortable with me doing it). The Enfield town branch is somewhat reminicent of Acorn Antiques.
Plus they've dummed down their stock and very few stores seem to carry anything other than kit lenses. A lot of the stores feel like discount stores to me that are part way through a huge stock clearance sale.
Given they must have the biggest chain of high street camera shops in the UK (can't image London Camera Exchange, Jacobs, etc. come even close) you'd think they'd have great purchasing power from buying in bulk and ought to have had a relatively robust business. I don't buy that camera phones have stolen their business. Everyone and their Mums has a DSLR whenever I'm out and about.
It's a sad story, but how many times have we heard 'Go and see it in Jessops then buy it cheaper somewhere else'? Well that's the result. Most people only want 'cheap' - so as profits fall you get less stock, more cretinous assistants, and then even less business in a downward spiral until it goes pop.
Jessops is a bit if a sore point round here since they made Mrs Sternum redundant along with another 150 or so head office staff earlier this year. But actually, by the looks of things she is better off out of there.
It's been a prime example of how not to run a retail business.
A few years ago it was a family business, the stores had knowledgeable staff - all round top retailer.
Since the family retired it's been managed into the ground by a succession of idiots as far as I can see who were essentially in it for their own gain. Bring in the management team from Dixon who were convinced they had made Dixons a premier electronics retailer and you can see where things were going to go. And they have.
Unfortunately I don't see much longer for Jessops, which will be a real loss from the high street, but at least the fat cats at the top will be OK. T*ssers, the lot of them.
It's been a prime example of how not to run a retail business.
A few years ago it was a family business, the stores had knowledgeable staff - all round top retailer.
Since the family retired it's been managed into the ground by a succession of idiots as far as I can see who were essentially in it for their own gain. Bring in the management team from Dixon who were convinced they had made Dixons a premier electronics retailer and you can see where things were going to go. And they have.
Unfortunately I don't see much longer for Jessops, which will be a real loss from the high street, but at least the fat cats at the top will be OK. T*ssers, the lot of them.
Simpo Two said:
It's a sad story, but how many times have we heard 'Go and see it in Jessops then buy it cheaper somewhere else'? Well that's the result. Most people only want 'cheap' - so as profits fall you get less stock, more cretinous assistants, and then even less business in a downward spiral until it goes pop.
I work for a vendor that suffers a little with that problem, ie people will try it out then go buy it online. It's not a "look at me" but I've bought a lot of my stuff from Jessops, the D80 came from there, as did the D300 and both SB600's. I bought from them because I wanted to try them first and they were the only main sources of that kit where I could have a go and decide.I tried to get a 24-70 off them (the Sigma, not the Nikon) or the Nikon 16-85 and had one on order, 3 weeks later they called up and said they couldnt find any. I could find them easily enough and ended up buying elsewhere. Whether they couldnt get access to stock or not I dont know. Same problem with the SB900, bought from Calumet in the end. I've been buying more from Jacobs recently if I want something off the high st there and then, Jessops dont really seem to want to cater for anyone with more than a P+S or a Sony, and it kind of shows in their web banners, currently offering free delivery on anything over £50. Some of it's definately their strategy
Edited by andy-xr on Friday 2nd October 13:17
Jessops are not getting stock - manufacturers have severely reduced or eliminated credit for them. And yes, all management want to cater for now is the walk in off the street crowd "I want a digital camera, more mega pixels is better you say? and shiny buttons and flashing lights make it a pro model?"
Dick Sternum said:
Jessops are not getting stock
While that does broadly seem to be true, they've obviously got a strong relationship with Canon, as of today the 7d is in stock at Jessops and pretty much nowhere else. Makes one wonder what happens to Canon's consumer market share if Jessops does go belly-up.
J111 said:
While that does broadly seem to be true, they've obviously got a strong relationship with Canon, as of today the 7d is in stock at Jessops and pretty much nowhere else.
Makes one wonder what happens to Canon's consumer market share if Jessops does go belly-up.
Currys, PC world, any number of online retailers, Jacobs, John Lewis, Argos, Amazon, Maybe even Canon taking teh chance to build "Apple" style stores, maybe improved range through Apple stores?Makes one wonder what happens to Canon's consumer market share if Jessops does go belly-up.
I wonder how much % of Canon end consumers they actually sell through Jessops these days? 10%? 50%? No idea....
Simpo Two said:
It's a sad story, but how many times have we heard 'Go and see it in Jessops then buy it cheaper somewhere else'? Well that's the result. Most people only want 'cheap' - so as profits fall you get less stock, more cretinous assistants, and then even less business in a downward spiral until it goes pop.
Heck, I'm sure I've said that at times.But then despite potential huge buying power, the prices don't tend to be that competitive.
I have bought the odd item from there, last one being a Lowepro AW200 - they happened to be doing a good price at the time. It took the saturday staffer ages to find the thing, after initially saying "we don't have any in stock" (I'd checked on-line before going in - they did have it in). In general though, their prices aren't that competitive, and the staff are not that knowledgeable.
My first memory of Jessops was when my dad and uncle scooted off on a weekend, i think probably late 70s/early 80s to the nearest jessops (50 miles each way I think) to get all the kit for the darkroom they'd built. At the time I loved photography, and if I managed to get into a Jessops i loved browsing along with my dad when he was searching for a new lens, filter, developing commercials, photo paper .... but now, they really are not even slightly at the same level.
I called into Station Cameras in Reading to part ex some kit a month or so back, and something about the place struck me as being the way a real camera shop should be - behind the counter was floor to ceiling with lenses and various kit, and the guy that dealt with my query was knowledgeable and enthusiastic.
J111 said:
Makes one wonder what happens to Canon's consumer market share if Jessops does go belly-up.
I'm sure Warehouse Express, Park Camera, Calumet, Jacobs, Mifsuds, Amazon and the countless other suppliers would happily take up the slack, probably at lower prices than Jessops charge too.Edited by MonkeyHanger on Friday 2nd October 17:25
How times change. In the late 70s I worked in an independent camera shop in Ipswich. In those days Jessops had a huge store in (I think) Leicester. I'd guess it was the largest in the UK at the time, this being before they'd started to expand into the high street and buy up much better stores like Tecno. At that time they were so cheap the owner of the camera shop would drive to Leicester and buy at retail from Jessops because they were cheaper than his wholesaler 
At one time they had three stores in Watford within 2 mins walk of each other. Obviously as the result of acquisitions but they continued like that for years. With management like that its extraordinary they've lasted this long.
At one time they had three stores in Watford within 2 mins walk of each other. Obviously as the result of acquisitions but they continued like that for years. With management like that its extraordinary they've lasted this long.
horacethefrog said:
How times change. In the late 70s I worked in an independent camera shop in Ipswich. In those days Jessops had a huge store in (I think) Leicester. I'd guess it was the largest in the UK at the time, this being before they'd started to expand into the high street and buy up much better stores like Tecno.
Indeed it was, I bought a Ricoh XR-7 body from them as a student. With one big central base, most of their business was mail order via adverts in magazines, so I guess that's why they were cheaper than little high street shops. So they extended and extended their retail presence, which must have seemed like a good idea until the internet and global marketplace came along... in hindight, had they retreated back to one big base (akin to Warehouse Express now) they might have done better.Gassing Station | Photography & Video | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff