JOBS are under threat at high street camera chain Jessops after it fell into administration yesterday (January 9).
The retailer, which has a store in The Maltings Shopping Centre in St Albans, has been forced to call in administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) following a “significant decline” in its core market last year.
The firm employs around 2,000 people across its 192 stores in the UK, some of which PwC has said will inevitably have to close.
Rob Hunt, joint administrator at PwC, 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 today but is critically dependent on these ongoing discussions. However, in the current economic climate it is inevitable that there will be store closures.”
Reduced confidence in UK retail reportedly caused Jessops’ position to deteriorate in the run-up to Christmas, and forecasts for 2013 indicated this decline would continue.
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