After a poor Christmas the high street suffered several high profile collapses in early January. One of the chains which entered administration was camera retailer Jessops, which was forced to throw in the towel after several years of struggling against e-commerce.
However, the chain has been placed on the fast-track for a turnaround by entrepreneur and star of Dragon’s Den Peter Jones who recently announced that he would act as both chief executive and chairman.
This certainly seems like a startling show of confidence from a man more known for his careful weighing-up of investment opportunities, yet his personal investment into the company does not stop there.
In the run up to Easter weekend, he announced plans for a £5 million rejuvenation project for the brand itself and also confirmed the re-opening of 30 stores by the end of April.
This has allowed him to not only re-employ more than 300 members of Jessops staff, who lost their jobs after administrators were called in, but to create a further 500 jobs on high streets nationwide.
While the exact future of the brand remains uncertain, Mr Jones has revealed that the interior of Jessops’ commercial properties has been noticeably modernised. Wooden floors and minimalism are to be the order of the day – presumably taking inspiration from Apple’s less-is-more approach – and click and collect services are expected to play a huge role in the potential return to profitability of the brand.
Originally, it was thought that Mr Jones intended to continue the name as an exclusively online retailer, yet he has now revealed that the employees of the company played a major role in changing his mind on the matter. After news broke of his successful purchase of the chain, he was inundated by emails containing the CVs of existing employees.
He says; “Store managers were saying: ‘If you ever need somebody let me know,’ and we just started making contact.
“I’ve never been overly emotional in business, but these guys are genuinely passionate about their jobs and are all photographers in their spare time.”
Six stores have already re-opened across the UK, in locations including London, St Albans and Aberdeen.
Do you think a successful, high profile entrepreneur returning to the high street and putting his faith in bricks and mortar retailing will encourage consumers to rely less on internet shopping, or will the business struggle even with the fire of a dragon behind it?
Previous Post
Louvre Tops List of Most Visited Venues of 2012
