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UK's biggest photography retailer closing down all stores tonight

UK's biggest photography retailer closing down all stores tonight

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Panasonic GH3 stock
Panasonic GH3 stock

Jessops, the UK’s largest and most prominent high street camera retailer, will be closing down all 187 of its stores today. The chain went into administration several days ago, with PriceWaterhouseCoopers taking up duties to try and find a buyer for the troubled company. A total of 1,370 jobs will be lost as a result of the store closures, but further jobs could be at risk at the company’s headquarters in Leicester. Anyone expecting a flood of cheap cameras will be in for a disappointment, however: all of Jessops’ stock will be rounded up and returned to central warehouses.

The chain has struggled with financial problems for years, but it looks like Jessops has finally succumbed to competition from online retailers. It isn’t the only UK company that has been hit hard recently either: electrical retailer Comet also entered administration in November and shut down its stores just before Christmas. More recently, Play.com announced that it would be shutting down its sales unit following the closure of a tax loophole.