Jessops

Infobox_Company | company_name = Jessops plc
company_
company_type = Public (lse|JSP)
company_slogan = Your pictures. Our passion.
foundation = 1935
location = Leicester (HQ)
key_people = CEO: TBA
Chairman: David Adams
num_employees = 2981 (Dec 2005)
industry = Retail
products = Photographic Equipment
revenue = profit £327 million GBP (2005) [http://production.investis.com/jessops/reports/annrep05/annrep05.pdf]
homepage = [http://www.jessops.com/ www.jessops.com]

Jessops is Britain's largest specialist photographic retailer, with 233 stores nationwide. Many branches contain mini-labs that can offer one hour processing or even a 30 minute express service. All branches now have facilities for digital processing through self-service kiosks.

Frank Jessop opened "Jessop of Leicester" in 1935 as a specialist photographic retailer. The company expanded to major towns and cities, with flagship 'World Camera Centres' in Birmingham, on London's New Oxford Street and on Deansgate in Manchester with the latest opened in Cardiff. The 200th store opened in Durham in July 2001.

The Jessops catalogue, available free from the stores, is traditionally regarded by amateurs as the enthusiast's bible. It is usually released quarterly.

Alan Jessop, Frank's son, sold the firm in 1996 in a management buy-out. ABN AMRO paid £116m for the company in 2002, and then floated the company on the London Stock Exchange in October 2004 [http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/q?s=JSP.L Yahoo Finance] .

Jessops remains based in Leicester, with the head office on Scudamore Road. In 2004, the main warehouse was relocated to Weedon, Northamptonshire as the warehouse in Leicester was considered too small. This resulted in most of the staff being made redundant.

Jessops also sell via their website, which boasts an average of 25 million hits a month.

William Rollason, non-executive director and chairman of the remuneration committee for Jessops – and last CEO of European Home Retail – has been implicated in the October 2006 Farepak scandal. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6159672.stm]

ister Companies

* Cameras2u [http://www.cameras2u.com Website]
* Tecno [http://www.tecno.co.uk Website] (now redirects to Jessops.com)
* Jessops Mobiles [http://www.jessopsmobiles.com Website] (site no longer in operation)
* Shopping4Cameras [http://www.shopping4cameras.com Website] (now redirects to Cameras2u)
* Satnav2u [http://www.satnav2u.com Website] (now redirects to Jessops.com)

Financial problems

In 2007 the company has suffered financial difficulties. This seems to be due to problems arising from its share flotation, [ [http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/columnists/article1582514.ece Is Brown trying to conjure money from thin air? - Times Online ] ] the maturation of the digital camera market (competition from supermarkets and internet retailers) and lower-than-expected sales figures over Christmas 2006. [ [http://www.citywire.co.uk/News/NewsArticle.aspx?VersionID=88066 Citywire :: News: Supply chain problems knock Jessops at Christmas and full-year targets, by Colin McClelland :: All of the news from Citywire’s award winning team of journalists. There are six sections devoted to: the latest company and market news, funds, Citywire's premium service including tips and shrewd investment deals, IFAs, newspaper summaries, plus the latest from the world of money, tax and property ] ] On June 21 2007 Jessops announced the closure of 81 of its 315 stores as "part of a strategic review which aims to save the Leicester firm £15m." [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6225070.stm Jessops to trim shops and workers] BBC News Website, 21 June 2007 ]

External links

* [http://www.jessops.com Official site]

References

* [http://news.independent.co.uk/business/analysis_and_features/article2437335.ece Investors in Jessops should focus on the risk] The Independent, 10 April 2007
* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/online/news/0,12597,1442817,00.html Profits alert as Jessops digicam sales slump] The Guardian - March 21, 2005