Threat to jobs after retailer Jessop calls in administrators
STAFF at a Derby camera shop are facing an uncertain future after its owner went into administration.
Jessops, which has a store at The Spot employing around 10 people, has called in PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as administrators.
The chain is Britain's only specialist nationwide camera retailer with 192 stores but in recent years it has been hit by increasing competition from supermarkets and internet retailers.
As well as the Derby store, Jessops also has outlets in Burton and Chesterfield.
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PwC said that it was "inevitable" that there would be store closures.
It said that while Jessops was a well-known brand with a strong reputation for service, its core marketplace had seen a significant decline in 2012, which was forecast to continue in 2013.
Despite additional funding being made available, Jessops had not generated the profits it had planned, PwC said.
Joint administrator Rob Hunt said: "Our most pressing task is to review the company's financial position and hold discussions with its principal stakeholders to see if the business can be preserved.
"Trading in the stores is hoped to continue but is critically dependent on these ongoing discussions. However, in the current economic climate, it is inevitable that there will be store closures."
The group's administration marks the first high profile retail collapse of 2013 and comes soon after electrical retailer Comet, which had a store at Kingsway Retail Park, in Derby, went under.
Jessops, which has its headquarters in Leicester, has suffered in recent years from online competition and the boom in camera phones, which has hit demand for digital cameras.
It underwent a major overhaul in 2007 and made several store closures, which included outlets in Ilkeston and Buxton.
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