Jessops bites the dust

[AlanF]

Jessops owner plans to call in administrators

The High Street camera chain, owned by Dragons Den star Peter Jones, has seen big rent rises.

www.bbc.co.uk

Oh dear, Jessops is going into administration and we lose more shops.

 

[Deleted member 381342]

This happened years ago. They went into administration, cut down most of their shops, and went mostly online with a much reduced product range(All lower end stuff that sells to consumers, no pro gear). I think they might have had more of a business model going the other way and focus on the high end, cameras are hard to justify when we have 40mp smartphones(Yes I know they aren't as good, but good enough)

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

It sounds like they are not going away, but another size reduction and reorganization will happen. I thought that we'd see a lot of camera manufacturers dropping 2 years ago, but most seem to be struggling along. With China getting into the market more and more, I just can't see all of the Camera Manufacturers hanging on.

 

[StoicalEtcher]

Jessops owner plans to call in administrators

The High Street camera chain, owned by Dragons Den star Peter Jones, has seen big rent rises.

www.bbc.co.uk

Oh dear, Jessops is going into administration and we lose more shops.

Unfortunately, the BBC's level of journalism/headline writing is nothing to what it used to be. It sounds like Jessops's is going into a CVA (Company Voluntary Arrangement) , almost certainly as a way to cram down landlord liabilities - or at least future rents - while the shareholder(s) still retains ownership.

The BBC is using lazy reporting and calling it an "administration", though that is technically a different insolvency process. (While it is true that a corporate can first enter administration, and then "exit" via a CVA, these days there is sufficient legal protection while pulling together a CVA to not need bother with the extra expense of a preliminary Administration). Once upon a time the BBC employed financial journalists who knew about business and legal processes - now... not so much.. and the 'gist of the facts' is good enough

Like so many high street retailers, it finds itself with a large number of rented shops, and now unable to meet the previously agreed lease rentals - if you want to be cynical, they simply now want to change the agreements they previously entered into, if you're more forgiving, then they are suffering due to a change in retailing (i.e. internet operations) and need to re-adjust one of their biggest costs through no fault of their own...

Since it is not the first time Peter Jones has used a CVA to reduce the landlord costs on one of his "investments", I'm more inclined to go with the first view.

Anyway - if it helps save the jobs of those still employed by Jessops, then I hope it is successful: they have had some really enthusiastic sales men down the years, who have helped a lot of people into photography.

 

[AlanF]

Unfortunately, the BBC's level of journalism/headline writing is nothing to what it used to be. It sounds like Jessops's is going into a CVA (Creditors Voluntary Arrangement) , almost certainly as a way to cram down landlord liabilities - or at least future rents - while the shareholder(s) still retains ownership.

The BBC is using lazy reporting and calling it an "administration", though that is technically a different insolvency process. (While it is true that a corporate can first enter administration, and then "exit" via a CVA, these days there is sufficient legal protection while pulling together a CVA to not need bother with the extra expense of a preliminary Administration). Once upon a time the BBC employed financial journalists who knew about business and legal processes - now... not so much.. and the 'gist of the facts' is good enough

Like so many high street retailers, it finds itself with a large number of rented shops, and now unable to meet the previously agreed lease rentals - if you want to be cynical, they simply now want to change the agreements they previously entered into, if you're more forgiving, then they are suffering due to a change in retailing (i.e. internet operations) and need to re-adjust one of their biggest costs through no fault of their own...

Since it is not the first time Peter Jones has used a CVA to reduce the landlord costs on one of his "investments", I'm more inclined to go with the first view.

Anyway - if it helps save the jobs of those still employed by Jessops, then I hope it is successful: they have had some really enthusiastic sales men down the years, who have helped a lot of people into photography.

Let's hope they survive.