Jessops

This article is about the British photographic retailer. For the department store, Jessops of Nottingham, see John Lewis (department store).
Jessops Europe Limited
Private limited company
Industry Retail
Founded Leicester, United Kingdom (1935)
Founder Frank Jessop
Headquarters Marlow, United Kingdom
Number of locations
 31 (April 2015)[1]
Area served
 United Kingdom
Key people
 Peter Jones
Products Photographic equipment
Photograph processing
Revenue £236.8 million (2011)[2]
£5.7 million (2011)[2]
Owner Peter Jones
Website www.jessops.com

Jessops Europe Limited is a British photographic retailing company. It was established in Leicester in 1935, by Frank Jessop, and traded under the name of The Jessop Group Limited. The business entered administration on 9 January 2013, and all 187 Jessops retail stores ceased trading on 11 January 2013, until the British entrepreneur Peter Jones CBE invested several million pounds into the company, and formed Jessops Europe Limited.

Six stores reopened on 28 March 2013, and Jones aimed to open a new store every day on average during April 2013. The relaunch of the Oxford Street store in London received considerable media interest, and was attended by several celebrities, including the actor James Corden. As of April 2015, there are 37 high street branches, and since July 2014, Sainsbury's has started rolling out Jessops branches in its larger stores.

History

Jessops re-opened store in Birmingham

Frank Jessop founded "Jessop of Leicester" in 1935 as a specialist photographic retailer. The company expanded to major towns and cities.

Alan Jessop, Frank's son, sold the firm in 1996 in a management buy-out. The 200th store, Durham, opened in July 2001. In October 2002, ABN AMRO paid £116M for the company, and then floated it on the London Stock Exchange in October 2004. In May 2004, the main warehouse relocated to Weedon Bec, Northamptonshire, as the warehouse in Leicester was considered too small. This resulted in most of the staff being made redundant.

Financial problems

In 2007, the company suffered financial difficulties requiring a strategic review, and eventually leading to a re-financing with its bankers, HSBC, in September 2009. This led to the group's trade being transferred to a new holding company, Snap Equity Limited, whilst Jessops plc was placed in liquidation and the group's final salary pension scheme transferred to the Pension Protection Fund. Snap Equity was formed as a private company 48% owned by HSBC, 33% by pension trustees and 20% by an employee trust.

Administration and closure

Jessops Group Limited went into administration on 9 January 2013, with an application made to the High Court.[3] On 11 January, it was announced that all 187 stores would close, with the loss of 1,370 jobs. Shoppers who put anywhere up to £500 on a gift card, found them useless[4] and company ceased to accept customer returns although manufacturers' warranties on products not branded by Jessops were not affected.

However, on 31 January 2013, the Jessops brand and various assets were acquired by entrepreneur Peter Jones CBE, one of the investors from the television programme Dragons' Den.[5] On 3 February, the supermarket retailer Morrisons agreed to purchase seven of Jessops larger store sites from the administrators for an undisclosed price, to be converted to Morrisons convenience store format M Local.[6]

Reopening

The British entrepreneur Peter Jones formed Jessops Europe Limited, and the retailer opened for business on 28 March 2013, and re-launched the high street brand. Two stores in London & Birmingham reopened on 28 March, and Manchester, Aberdeen, High Wycombe & St. Albans opened on 29 March 2013. A further more stores reopened throughout April.[7][8] Jessops online photo business is also owned by Peter Jones CBE.

By September 2013, the company had opened 28 stores across the United Kingdom. In July 2014, Jessops signed a landmark deal with Sainsbury's where more Jessops stores will be opened in the larger supermarkets stores across the country.

Operations

Jessops Group Limited had 187 stores across the United Kingdom, at the time of its collapse in January 2013. The new business formed by Peter Jones CBE, Jessops Europe Limited, re-opened over 30 stores across the country. All the stores contain mini-labs that offer one hour processing of photographic film or a 25-minute "express" service. The Jessops mail order catalogue is available free from the stores, and is released quarterly.

Jessops' 'new' head office is in Marlow, Buckinghamshire.

References

  1. ↑ "Store Finder". Jessops. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Jessops reports rosy picture". Leicester Mercury. 7 June 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  3. ↑ "Jessops camera chain in administration". BBC News. 9 January 2013.
  4. ↑ Jessops Employee. "Weathering the Jessops Administration". Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  5. ↑ "Jessops brand sold to Peter Jones". BBC News. 31 January 2013.
  6. ↑ "Morrisons buys clutch of Jessops shops". The Daily Telegraph (The Daily Telegraph). 3 February 2013. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
  7. ↑ "Camera chain Jessops re-opens two months after closing". BBC News. 28 March 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  8. ↑ David Risser (28 March 2013). "Jessops Reopens on London's Oxford Street Led by 'Dragons' Star". Bloomberg. Retrieved 28 March 2013.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jessops.