Jessops - possibly not long for this planet

According to the Sunday Times Business section, Jessops are trading debt for equity and forecast is for a difficult cash position in 1H '09.

May mean more bargains to be had.

Peter

I walked through Woolworths today and got a lump in my throat. I couldn't actually bring myself to buy anything (not that there was much left worth having except shop fittings) as it felt a bit like kicking an old friend when they're down.

Know what you mean, sad to see it go,
Looks like there be a few more in 2009 .

I hope not, as I said in another post, our main streets can't afford to loose all these stores. We don't want bookies, charity and pound shops dominating them!

I tried to get access to Woolworths in Durham on Monday to record the final clearout but was refused on the grounds of the administrators would not allow it. I took a couple of photos of the outside and a few through the windows as a record of a sad occasion. I think the sale sign on the bucket sums it up. The way the work had progressed it will not be long before the new owners will be in.

Link to pictures

John

Very sad news this It would be a shame to see them go the same way as Woolworths.

Olan Mills Studios are going too, according to the beeb
But with the weak pound we are likely to see the prices in technology goods (cameras etc.) go up

Olan Mills finished here at Peterborough over 2 years ago owing hundreds of pounds to customers..

I was in Cameraworld in Chelmsford yesterday, and the staff were looking through the list of price rises which are due to take effect on the 15th. Average was about 15%, one example was a rise from £16 to £21.

That was all manufacturers, not specifically Pentax.

They were also saying that Jessops were struggling, and that they (Cameraworld) hadn't sold a Canon 450D for a few weeks, because Jessops round the corner were selling them at £20 below cost price. It just isn't worth CW trying to compete with that, and I think they'd be daft to.

Dan

Petercf I am waiting for you to mention that one word SALE!

So long as the words 'Closing down' don't precede it!

Will keep my ears open, might just set a LSE tracker to catch any news from the city that would hint at such an activity.

Jessops - latest:-

"Perhaps the most surprising of the three was Jessops: the chain has been struggling in recent years due to the decline of digital camera sales, but it clearly enjoyed a welcome Christmas boost, with sales up 3.1% on last year. Unfortunately that’s where the good news ends: despite this late rally, Jessops still finished the quarter nearly 6% down on last year – and this sales lift has been funded partly out of profit margins (i.e. by heavy discounting)."

Will have to wait & see what their next strategy will be!

Heavy discounting?

What were they discounting?

As they no longer stock Pentax kit I seem to be less interested in whether they survive or not.
After all there won't be much of interest in the closing down sale will there?