Jessops targets 15 new stores as it accelerates expansion push

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Jessops eyes 15 new stores by 2018
Camera specialist targets Scotland and Northwest England
Plans revealed as Jessops opens 51st store in Brighton

Jessops boss Neil Old has unveiled plans to open 15 new stores as the photography retailer targets cities in Northwest England and Scotland.

The chief executive said he wanted to move into these areas in particular, as the business gained momentum with its “immersive high street format” and “multi-channel strategy”.

Speaking at the launch of Jessops’ 51st store in North Street, Brighton, Old told Retail Week: “I am confident we will have up to 15 new stores open by 2018. There are other cities north of the border we would like to be in, and a large city in the Northwest of England we don’t have yet.”

Re-building the retailer

Jessops’ 187 stores were shuttered when it went into administration in 2013, but 28 of those were reopened under the ownership of entrepreneur and Dragons’ Den star Peter Jones.

An additional 23 new sites have since been acquired, including the Brighton branch, which is the retailer’s first opening this year.

“We have been looking to get back into Brighton for a long time. There’s a high saturation of affluent people, hobbyists and photography students, so the model works very well here”

Neil Old

Old said: “We have been looking to get back into Brighton for a long time. There’s a high saturation of affluent people, hobbyists and photography students, so the model works very well here.”

He described the Brighton shop as a “welcomed addition to one of the UK’s most vibrant cities”.

Location, location, location

Old said Jessops had been using information from its customer database to “ensure the best possible fit” for its new high street stores.

“It is always tempting to open lots of stores, but that is why the old model did not work,” he said. “We are focusing on getting the locations right.”

Jessops’ Brighton shop – one of the retailer’s ‘immersive’ store formats – offers shoppers camera hire, trade-ins, sensor cleaning and one-to-one photography tuition. It also has an on-site lab for photo printing products made in-store within the hour.

Jessops launched the ‘immersive’ concept in 2014 with its 2,745 sq ft store at The Oracle shopping centre in Reading, complete with consultation area, mini lab and training room.