Jacobs gone bump!

Sad to hear that and Jessops are not independent.
 
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I'm gutted to hear this news as I went to school with one of the Jacobs daughters and met the family a few times. Really nice people and bloody hard working too.

I use the Jacobs Digital store in Leicester a fair bit and the staff are excellent. They will always do their best to price match and will always get items in if asked. I know the Internet is the place to shop but there is no substitute for actually handling kit before buying.

I guess this is a sad indication of the current state of affairs in the UK, I just hope the administrators can find a decent buyer for the company.

Andy
 
Once Jessops go, and that's really only a matter of time imho, then I foresee prices from the internet-only retailers will gradually creep up....
 
srichards said:
I'm not sure why it is called the 'largest' independent retailer as it only has 19 shops. Is Jessops not independent?
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Jacobs are/were privately owned, Jessops, by contrast are 47% owned by HSBC, 33% owned by pension trustees and 20% by an employee trust.

The only reason they are still with us is that the ratio of debt to realisable assets was so bad that their creditors had no choice other than to let them keep trading.
 
Very sad news. Jacobs have been great when asking advice etc. Hope they can find a buyer
 
Very sorry to hear this, particularly for the staff who may be out of a job soon(fingers crossed for a buyer).
I have used the Leeds branch many times and always found the staff knowledgeable and friendly.
 
Not good news, I liked to go the branch in New Oxford Street, lots of decent s/hand stuff there and people who seemed keen on helping and discussing gear.
I was in there a couple of days ago buying a Neotec monopod.

Could be that all the advice about "go into a store and handle a camera then if you like it buy on-line" has had some impact on the "smaller" photo stores.
 
It might be the case that a few of the shops are the problem and the rest of them are ok. Many chains have closed down or altered unprofitable shops.

The go into store and then buy online has consequences for even large retailers. I still don't understand why web prices for the same retailer are different. I find that annoying. They're killing their own shops that way! If they want to revive stores then the in store price needs to be cheaper or at least equal to their online price.
 
srichards said:
It might be the case that a few of the shops are the problem and the rest of them are ok. Many chains have closed down or altered unprofitable shops.

The go into store and then buy online has consequences for even large retailers. I still don't understand why web prices for the same retailer are different. I find that annoying. They're killing their own shops that way! If they want to revive stores then the in store price needs to be cheaper or at least equal to their online price.
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I can understand why they have different online prices, but for both Jessops and Jacobs you can "click and collect" to get the Online Price.

If someone walks into a shop and buys without looking online first why should the price be the same?
 
srichards said:
The go into store and then buy online has consequences for even large retailers. I still don't understand why web prices for the same retailer are different. I find that annoying. They're killing their own shops that way! If they want to revive stores then the in store price needs to be cheaper or at least equal to their online price.
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footman said:
Could be that all the advice about "go into a store and handle a camera then if you like it buy on-line" has had some impact on the "smaller" photo stores.
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It's known as "showrooming" and it's not just small high street retailers like Jacobs and Jessops that are being affected. In the US Best Buy, who have already closed all of their UK stores, are in serious trouble, their nickname The Amazon Showroom is a clue why...

mortimerhill said:
Jessops are independent as they are not owned by any other chain or by a manufacturer (yet)
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As you say, not yet, however Canon are just about to invest £10 million in the company and there were rumours in the past of them becoming, effectively, the retail arm of Canon UK.
 
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mulch said:
Very sorry to hear this, particularly for the staff who may be out of a job soon(fingers crossed for a buyer).
I have used the Leeds branch many times and always found the staff knowledgeable and friendly.
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I too would be sad to see them go especially the guys in Leeds. We've also had great service there. OK like plenty of others we've done the look first-buy on the internet thing but we have stopped and bought bags, lenses and even a body from them. Good service and locality sometimes makes it worth the extra pounds. I wish everybody luck during this difficult time for them and hopefully a buyer can be found.
 
The Edinburgh staff were always extremely helpful.

Sadly though once I went in for a 40D battery and the guy had to point me to Ebay.

Whilst they aim to price match, its difficult when the final online price is lower than your stock cost :(
 
Flash In The Pan said:
Once Jessops go, and that's really only a matter of time imho, then I foresee prices from the internet-only retailers will gradually creep up....
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I don't see that myself - they've still got to be competitive with all the other camera shops digital depot, mifsuds, ffordes, LCE, T4 etc plus the big high street electronics places that also sell cameras.

Plus those who are selling legitimately imported kit have to keep their prices realistic in order to compete with the grey importers
 
My sister in law has just lost her job for this company. We are just at the beginning of a recession imo.
 
Rufus T Firefly said:
Sad news indeed. Newcastle staff are incredibly friendly and helpful.
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I bought my K100D from there back in 2006, when it broke for good last month I called in asking to see a K-5, the young lad who served me looked rather embarrassed as he told me they don't stock Pentax instore anymore and it would take 2-3 weeks to order. He then quietly pointed across the road (Jessops) and said I think they have one in.
 
Sad to hear this, always found the staff in the Birmingham branch friendly and helpful.
 
big soft moose said:
I don't see that myself - they've still got to be competitive with all the other camera shops digital depot, mifsuds, ffordes, LCE, T4 etc plus the big high street electronics places that also sell cameras.

Plus those who are selling legitimately imported kit have to keep their prices realistic in order to compete with the grey importers
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Yes they do, but let's look at what that really means.

They have to remain competitive with the remaining bricks and mortar specialist retailers

In most cases Amazon and WEX are already the cheapest suppliers for most items, remove the main high street competition and you are left with small outfits like Mifsuds or DD whose buying-in cost is probably at a level where Amazon could comfortably sell retail.

The big high st electronics stores also sell cameras

Yes, they do, have you ever tried to buy a 500mm lens or a pro body from your local branch of Currys? The most expensive piece of camera kit my local Currys "superstore carries is the 7D and have you seen the latest Argos tv ad, it features the 2 generations-old Nikon D3000!

It's a moot point anyway as Comet, Currys et al are subject to the same showrooming issues that the camera stores are, Currys and PC World stores are already being combined in an attempt to slash overheads and Comet are now in the hands of a private equity firm who are desperately trying to prevent a repeat of the 22%+ fall in sales the company endured last year. Dixons Retail (owners of PCW and Currys) faired only slightly better and I'm pretty sure if you drilled down into their sales figures that photographic equipment will only account for a tiny percentage of their turnover anyway.

Retailers need to keep prices low to compete with grey imports

That might have been a valid point a few years back, when a strong pound meant bargains galore for those prepared to go down that route, but nowadays the difference is negligible and afaik there are only a tiny number of UK- based grey retailers with a bricks and mortar presence and even then it's one small shop in one area, which hardly compares to the liked of Jessops.

I'd also wager that the majority of buyers would still prefer a UK- sourced item, with a manufacturers warranty and would be prepared to pay a premium for the pleasure.

Ultimately the double-edged sword of the internet and very tough trading times will be the death of many more big high st retailers, camera shops included.
 
People will always try gear locally and usually end up buying online. This is a bad thing for the 'shops' in the high street
 
Re Amazon, there's no loophole to close. UK tax law already has robust Transfer Pricing legislation that applies to all connected party transactions. The profits of the UK subsidiary are therefore correct for tax purposes.

Even if the law were changed to assess a portion of the US parent's profits to UK tax, this wouldn't generate any extra revenue for the exchequer as the US would retain primary taxing authority status (by virtue of the parent's registration and tax residence) and since US corporation tax is higher than the UK, we'd get nothing.

Let's not forget that those 3000 UK workers will all be paying income tax and national insurance, and Amazon will be paying employer's national insurance.
 
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I've always been treated well at the Manchester branch, with the staff more than willing to help with any queries or problems. I have bought bodies and printers from them in the past and they have tried their best to price match or throw in a few extras to make a sale.
 
Flash In The Pan said:
Once Jessops go, and that's really only a matter of time imho, then I foresee prices from the internet-only retailers will gradually creep up....
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Absolutely correct :thumbs:

Psyence33 said:
Sad news :( Would love to see more camera stores rip off or not...
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And that mentality is why :thumbsdown:

When there are no retailers left to offer serious advice and service - we, some of us, may wonder why!
 
As a customer I'd have to say that one of the problems I've found with shops like Jacobs and Calumet is all too often they don't have the product I want in-store so I have to go elsewhere. Pathetic. The service they offer normally is fantastic, unlike Jessops who are simply atrocious. Its sad that Jacobs has gone under, especially for the staff in the shops, but I bet the owners have simply lost touch. And it always amazes me that some photographers always want the cheapest price, even some of the so-called 'professionals'. I wonder if I can get them to reduce their prices quite so easily. Thought not. Hypocrits! When Jacobs have gone, they've gone and a sad day it will be..........for everyone.
 
Why does being a professional have any difference on if they want to save money, and how is it surprising people want the best deals?

If you can buy x product somewhere else for considerably less then it's not exactly sensible to go and buy from the more expensive place for the sake of it.

Hardly hypocritical tbh.
 
fastworldimages said:
Why does being a professional have any difference on if they want to save money, and how is it surprising people want the best deals?

If you can buy x product somewhere else for considerably less then it's not exactly sensible to go and buy from the more expensive place for the sake of it.

Hardly hypocritical tbh.
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Actually, I tend to agree that it's hypocritical. You don't have to search very hard on the forum to find pros moaning about potential customers choosing a wedding photographer based on price, yet when it comes to sourcing equipment many of these self same people will eschew the use of the likes of Jacobs and go directly to the Digital Rev or some Ebay grey importer to save a few pennies.

What I've noticed from my time here on tp is that photographers on the whole seem to be of the opinion that they should be paid top dollar for their work, but those supplying them the tools of their trade should work for virtually nothing.

As an example, I seem to recall one pro on here, who I'm sure charges well into four figures to cover a wedding, lambasting a lighting supplier for "daring" to have a £100 profit margin on their product, which is probably a fraction of the mark-up on one wedding album.

And yes, I'm sure the photographer had overheads that needed to come of the margin on the album etc, but them so does the retailer and ultimately if all the bricks and mortar ones are driven to the wall then all that will be left will be Amazon and the greys.
 
Well just popped onto Jacobs with my £150 credit note, only to be told that since going into administration, Jacobs digital won't honour any vouchers or credit notes issued prior to that date. So I've now got to write to the adminstrators to claim my money back, or hope they're bought out of adminstration. Poor guy in the shop, looked very awckward when he told me that they couldn't honour the note, especially as his job is at risk.
 
Matholwch said:
Well just popped onto Jacobs with my £150 credit note, only to be told that since going into administration, Jacobs digital won't honour any vouchers or credit notes issued prior to that date. So I've now got to write to the adminstrators to claim my money back, or hope they're bought out of adminstration. Poor guy in the shop, looked very awckward when he told me that they couldn't honour the note, especially as his job is at risk.
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Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but when TJ Hughes were bought out of receivership a while back the new company refused to honour any and all gift cards, credit notes etc issued by the previous one...
 
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